North Korean hackers launder $242 million of Binance loot via Tron as FBI presses THORChain: analyst

The FBI announced on October 31 that North Korean hackers, operating under the name "TraderTraitor," were responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance on or around October 29. While the FBI stated the stolen amount exceeded $6 billion, Arabian Post reports that TRM Labs estimated the theft at approximately $6.36 billion.

Cointelegraph reports the FBI identified the specific malicious cyber activity as TraderTraitor and noted that investigators have observed the hackers converting most of the stolen assets into Ether.

To disrupt laundering activities, the FBI is coordinating with the US Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division. The agency has urged private-sector entities, including DeFi services, instant exchanges, and THORNode operators, to block transactions involving addresses used by TraderTraitor actors. The FBI expects hackers to move into more advanced laundering stages using instant swap services and DeFi.

The Block reports that approximately $140 million of stolen funds were moved off the Tron network using crypto bridges, including Chainflip, Symbiosis, and THORChain, with Relay handling the largest portion at $48 million.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Block, Arabian Post, Cointelegraph — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.