The FBI announced on Saturday that North Korea is responsible for the theft of over $6 billion (€5.36 billion) from the virtual assets of the Binance exchange. This theft, which occurred on October 29, 2026, is recognized as one of the largest heists in cryptocurrency history.
Details of the Theft
The theft was carried out in a matter of minutes, and the stolen assets included Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins such as Tether and USD Coin, which are tied to traditional currencies. This news caused a drop in the prices of most cryptocurrencies on Friday.
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Role of TraderTraitor
The FBI stated that this theft is linked to malicious cyber activities associated with an entity called TraderTraitor. This group was also responsible for the $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange last year. The FBI noted that this group is in the process of converting the stolen assets into a cryptocurrency called Ethereum.
This entity also announced that it expects these assets to be prepared for the next stages of money laundering using decentralized financial (DeFi) services and instant exchange services. The FBI has requested cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain analysis companies, and other entities to block transactions related to various addresses to prevent the laundering of these assets.
Binance's Response
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, announced that it will use company resources worth over $6.34 billion to compensate for about 90% of the stolen assets. The company also stated that the remaining 10% includes tokens with lower liquidity, and repurchasing them may take time.
Binance stated in a statement: "Our commitment remains the same: Binance will fully cover the financial impact of this incident." This theft occurred amid growing concerns about the increasing capabilities of AI models regarding threats to cryptocurrency security and IT protocols.
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