FBI Blames North Korea for $6 Billion Theft From Crypto Exchange Binance

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Saturday that North Korea was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion (€5.36 billion) in virtual assets from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, on or about October 29, 2026. The theft took place within minutes and is believed to be the biggest crypto heist in history. News of the cyberattack pushed the prices of most major cryptocurrencies lower on Friday.

What the FBI said

The FBI linked the crime to "malicious cyber activity" by a group known as TraderTraitor. According to the agency, the same actors were behind a $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange last year. The stolen assets included bitcoin, ethereum and stablecoins such as tether and USD Coin, whose values are pegged to traditional currencies.

The FBI said it had observed TraderTraitor converting the stolen assets mainly into ethereum. It expects the funds to be laundered further through decentralized finance (DeFi) and instant swap services. The bureau asked crypto exchanges, blockchain analytics firms and others to block transactions tied to certain addresses so that the money cannot be laundered and its origin concealed.

Binance's response

On Saturday Binance said it was using company funds worth over $6.34 billion to buy tokens and replenish about 90% of the stolen assets. The remaining 10% consisted of less liquid tokens, which may take longer to buy back. In a post on X, the company said it would fully cover the financial impact of the funds stolen in the incident.

The heist came amid growing concern that the expanding capabilities of artificial intelligence models could undermine cryptography and IT security protocols.