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 theft.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has accused North Korea of perpetrating the largest known cryptocurrency theft in history, siphoning over $6 billion in digital assets from the Binance exchange. Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes, assured that it would cover the losses, utilizing company funds to replenish 90% of the stolen assets.
The FBI confirmed earlier suspicions that the North Korean-affiliated group TraderTraitor, previously implicated in a $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit platform in February 2025, was responsible for the recent hack. The FBI alerted the global community that TraderTraitor actors were converting the stolen assets into Ethereum and expecting further laundering through decentralized finance and instant swap services.
Binance, the affected exchange, set aside more than $6.34 billion in company funds to cover the losses. The attack caused significant drops in the prices of major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance's native token, BNB. The FBI's warning comes amid growing concerns that advancements in artificial intelligence might undermine cryptography and IT security protocols.
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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