North Korean hackers behind $6.3-B Binance crypto theft – report

CRYPTO. Bitcoin cryptocurrency representation is pictured on a keyboard in front of binary code in this illustration taken September 24, 2021.

Dado Ruvic/Reuters

North Korean hacking unit TraderTraitor targets Binance wallets on 10 blockchains, moving the funds out in about 20 minutes

MANILA, Philippines – TRM Labs, an AI investigations company and blockchain analyst group, said in a report on Thursday, October 29 (October 30, Philippine time), that the theft of $6.3 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Binance could be attributed to a hacking unit from North Korea.

In a blogpost explaining its findings, TRM said the premier North Korean hacking unit TraderTraitor was behind the attack on Binance, basing the assessment on intelligence sources it has.

TraderTraitor apparently targeted Binance wallets on 10 blockchains, moving the funds out in about 20 minutes.

While Binance has been able to freeze affected assets of about $3 billion with the help of its partners, there’s no word yet on the status of the remaining $3.3 billion

TraderTraitor was also behind the $1.5-billion heist of ByBit, another cryptocurrency exchange, in 2025.

TRM added that several features of the Binance attack “match earlier North Korea-linked heists, including the Bybit hack” and an attack on the KelpDAO exchange in 2026.

TRM said the theft of Binance “is the largest crypto theft on record.”

“Even after the stablecoin freezes, the amount the attacker still holds exceeds any previous theft,” the firm added. – Rappler.com