FBI Says North Korea Is Behind the $6 Billion Binance Hack and Asks Crypto Firms to Block the Stolen Funds
The bureau's Saturday statement is the first federal confirmation of who was behind the theft. Binance says it has already replenished about 90% of the loss.
The FBI said Saturday that North Korean hackers stole more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance this week, Fox Business reports. That ties one of the largest digital asset thefts on record to the regime in Pyongyang.
What the FBI said. It is the first public confirmation from U.S. federal investigators of North Korea's role, following earlier assessments from private cybersecurity researchers. The FBI labeled the activity "TraderTraitor" and said it, the Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation watched the hackers convert the stolen assets mostly into Ethereum. Authorities expect the money to be laundered further through decentralized finance platforms and instant exchange services.
The ask. Federal officials are urging crypto exchanges, blockchain analytics firms and other digital asset providers to block transactions involving wallet addresses tied to the stolen funds.
Trump's comment. President Trump said Saturday the administration was still gathering information. "I'm not concerned. We're learning about it. We don't know if it's North Korea, but if it is, we'll talk to them about it," he told reporters. Fox does not say whether the White House has responded to the FBI's finding.
Binance's response. Binance first disclosed the breach Thursday, putting the loss at about $6.3 billion. On Saturday it said it had replenished about 90% of the stolen assets, roughly $6 billion, and that Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and BNB were fully backed while it kept buying less-liquid tokens. "Binance will absorb the financial impact of these stolen funds, not our users," the exchange said.
What to keep in mind. Binance's figures about its own reserves are the company's statements and were not independently verified in the report. Earlier coverage on this site covered the initial theft and the private-sector attribution.