FBI says North Korea behind $6bn crypto theft
The FBI has accused North Korea of stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance in what is thought to be the biggest-ever crypto heist.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has accused North Korea of orchestrating a massive $6 billion cryptocurrency heist from the exchange Binance, marking one of the largest thefts in the digital asset world. The cyberattack, which occurred around October 29, 2026, saw Binance cover the losses using its own company funds, replenishing about 90% of the stolen assets.
The FBI confirmed that the cyber-attack was carried out by a North Korea-affiliated group named TraderTraitor, previously linked to a $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit platform in February 2025. The FBI has warned that TraderTraitor actors converted the stolen assets into Ethereum, foreseeing further laundering through decentralized finance and instant swap services.
The US law enforcement agency is urging private sector entities to block transactions with or derived from addresses used by TraderTraitor to launder the stolen assets. Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes, has set aside over $6.34 billion to cover the losses. The hack caused a sharp decline in the prices of major cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin falling nearly 5%, Ethereum dropping almost 6%, and BNB, native to Binance, plummeting nearly 10%.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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