FBI blames North Korean hackers for Binance theft
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation says North Korean state-backed hackers, operating under the name TraderTraitor, stole roughly $6.3 billion in crypto from the exchange Binance on 29 Oct. The FBI says the group is converting most of the funds into Ethereum and may move them through decentralised finance platforms and instant-swap services. Binance says it has set aside more than $6.34 billion to cover the losses and has used company funds to buy tokens that replace about 90 percent of the stolen assets. Major cryptocurrency prices fell sharply on Friday after the hack became known. The FBI has asked exchanges and blockchain analytics firms to block transactions tied to the group's addresses.
Key facts
- The theft involved bitcoin, ethereum and stablecoins such as tether and USD Coin.
- Binance temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while the attack was under way.
- The FBI says TraderTraitor is part of the Lazarus cybercrime group.
- Binance co-CEO Richard Teng has told customers they will not suffer financial loss.
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Why it matters
A theft of this size from a major exchange raises questions about crypto security and the reach of state-linked hacking.
What changed
First published from NPR, Yonhap, Hindustan Times, The Hindu and DR Nyheder