North Korean hackers behind $6.3 billion Binance crypto heist, says FBI

The FBI has accused North Korea of stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance on or about October 29, 2026. The theft, which occurred within a 30-minute window, is believed to be the largest cryptocurrency heist in history. The FBI linked the attack to a North Korea-affiliated group known as TraderTraitor, the same entity responsible for a $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit platform last year.

According to the FBI, the attackers drained Binance's internet-connected "hot wallets" and were observed converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum.

The stolen assets included Bitcoin, Ether, and stablecoins such as Tether and USD Coin. While investigators and stablecoin issuers have frozen approximately $2.8 billion in stablecoins, the FBI noted that Bitcoin and Ether lack a central issuer capable of blocking their movement. The FBI has urged crypto exchanges and blockchain analytics companies to block transactions linked to various addresses to prevent the assets from being laundered through decentralized finance and instant swap services.

The cyberattack caused a slump in major cryptocurrency prices on Friday. Straits Times Business reported that Bitcoin fell about 5% over 24 hours following the October 29 incident, while Ether lost about 5.7% before recovering some ground. In response to the heist, Binance co-chief executive Richard Teng stated the exchange is working to recover the assets, and RTE News reported that Binance has used company funds to replenish 90% of what was stolen.

Brief written by urgent.news from Business Standard IN, Straits Times Business, RTE News, DW News, DW English (Top Stories) — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.