Binance cryptocurrency exchange hack linked to North Korea, experts say
A U.S.-based blockchain intelligence firm says a North Korean unit was likely behind the hack that impacted more than $6 billion on Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange.
A cyberattack has resulted in a staggering $6.3 billion theft from the leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. The exchange has suspended all transactions and assured users that their funds remain secure. The exchange's CEO, Changpeng Zhao, pledged to cover all losses incurred by users. If verified, this incident would rank as the highest cryptocurrency heist in history.
Binance has managed to recover approximately $3 billion of the stolen assets, preventing the hackers from fully exploiting the situation. The preliminary investigation suggests a possible connection to a DevOps engineer's compromised laptop. The cybersecurity firms TRM Labs and Pangolin Intelligence have pointed to the North Korean hacker group TraderTraitor as the likely perpetrators of the attack.
TRM's senior investigator, Nick Carlsen, noted similarities in the hackers' blockchain activity with data from other North Korea-linked incidents, leading to the firm's conclusion that the theft is indeed the work of North Korea. This heist surpasses the previous record set in 2025, when hackers stole $1.5 billion from the crypto exchange Bybit, also attributed to the North Korean group TraderTraitor.
The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on two Russian nationals for their alleged involvement in assisting North Korea with cryptocurrency transactions and money laundering for weapons programs. Furthermore, a Russian court sentenced an IT specialist to 13 years in prison for providing data to Moscow, highlighting the ongoing efforts to combat cybercrime in the digital currency space.
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