Crypto giant Binance attempting to recover $6.3bn stolen in hack linked to North Korea
The cyber-attack, which the company describes as complex, is believed to be the largest ever of its kind.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is attempting to recover $6.3bn stolen in a hack linked to North Korea. The company has frozen around half of the stolen funds, securing $3bn of the $6.3bn in digital assets. However, many assets remain in the hands of unidentified hackers. Initially, security experts believed a compromised engineer's laptop was responsible for the unauthorized withdrawals.
However, later investigations revealed a wider breach. Several analytics firms have linked the hack, surpassing a $1.5bn theft on Bybit in 2025, to a North Korean hacking unit. The US Secret Service is working around the clock to identify, freeze, trace, and recover the stolen funds. Binance has assured its users that their money is safe and the company is covering every loss.
Binance's co-CEO Richard Teng stated that the attack was not carried out by one person and involved a self-destruct mechanism, making it harder to trace. Despite the looming financial loss, Binance has maintained confidence in its ability to cover it. The crypto industry is wary of whether Binance can weather the storm, reminiscent of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's assurances before his exchange collapsed in 2022.
North Korea, a country with limited industry and heavy international sanctions, uses cyber crime as a means to generate revenue. Recent analyses suggest a high probability that North Korea is behind the Binance hack.
Written by urgent.news from BBC World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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