FBI Accuses North Korean Group 'TraderTraitor' Of $6 Billion Binance Hack
The US law enforcement agency's statement came as Binance offered reassurances that it was covering the losses from the hacking attack, saying it has used company funds to buy tokens to replenish 90 per cent of what was stolen.
The FBI announced on Saturday that the North Korean state-sponsored unit known as TraderTraitor was responsible for a record $6.3 billion hack of the Binance platform. According to the South China Morning Post, the bureau linked the attack to the same actors behind a $1.5 billion Bybit hack last year. The FBI has asked cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain analytics companies to block transactions tied to various addresses to prevent the laundering of funds, noting that the attackers were observed converting stolen assets primarily into ethereum.
Binance stated it has set aside more than $6.34 billion in company funds to cover the losses and has already used company money to replenish 90% of the stolen assets. The exchange noted that the remaining 10% consists of less liquid tokens which may take longer to source. While Binance previously suspended user withdrawals, the company indicated it was on track to resume them on Sunday.
The FBI expects the hackers will attempt to convert assets using DeFi and "instant swap services." While the FBI listed hundreds of addresses in its notice, Chainalysis reported that the Binance attackers have already used thousands of addresses and expects that number to grow. Following news of the cyberattack, the prices of most major cryptocurrencies fell.
Brief written by urgent.news from CoinDesk, South China Morning Post, Free Malaysia Today, CBC Business, CNA - Business — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
