On the last day of October, the FBI named North Korea as the force behind a theft of more than six billion dollars in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest exchange, a loss that now stands as the biggest in the short history of digital assets. Investigators say the stolen funds are being converted, mostly into Ethereum, and expect them to move through decentralised platforms as the trail continues to lengthen. Binance has said it will carry the damage itself, having already covered most of the loss and promised to reopen withdrawals soon. The attribution arrives amid a fragile hope
FBI Blames North Korea for Binance's $6 Billion Crypto Hack as Exchange Moves to Reimburse Users
Never see the money anymore.
Mark
Start with the basics. What did the FBI actually say on Oct 31?
Mimi
That North Korea is responsible for stealing more than US$6 billion from Binance. It named TraderTraitor, working with the Secret Service and IRS criminal investigators, and said the stolen assets are being converted mainly into Ethereum.
Mark
Why does the conversion into Ethereum matter?
Mimi
It's the first step of laundering. The FBI expects the funds to go next through DeFi and instant swap services, which is where the trail gets harder to follow.
Luke
Careful there. "Expected" is the FBI's word. The statement describes what it has observed, converting into Ethereum, and what it predicts. The later laundering stages haven't been reported as happening.
Mark
And the scale? Is this really the biggest ever?
Mimi
Experts call it the largest in crypto history. The loss is US$6.3 billion, against US$1.5 billion at Bybit in 2025 and about US$620 million in 2022.
Luke
Worth noting that "largest" comes from experts, and the US$6.3 billion figure is the one Binance is working from. The FBI says "more than US$6 billion." Those are close, but they aren't the same statement.
Mark
What about customers? Are they whole?
Mimi
Not entirely yet. Binance says it has covered about 90% and plans to restore withdrawals by Nov 1, with a pledge to absorb the whole loss.
Luke
That's Binance's own account. The 90% and the Nov 1 date are plans and claims from the exchange, and nothing here independently confirms them.
Mark
And Trump's comments?
Mimi
He said on Oct 30 that the US was looking into North Korea's role, and he has floated a possible meeting with Kim Jong Un in 2026, though he later cooled on it.
Luke
The reporting doesn't say whether the attribution will change any of that. That's still an open question.
O Pulso
- The FBI has formally pinned a record-breaking $6 billion-plus crypto theft on North Korea's TraderTraitor unit, sending fresh alarm through an industry already fighting for mainstream trust.
- Investigators, working alongside the Secret Service and IRS criminal division, are racing to follow stolen assets that are being swapped mostly into Ethereum.
- Binance is absorbing the entire impact, with about 90% of the $6.3 billion already covered and withdrawals targeted to resume by November 1.
- Trump's remarks that the hack is 'the problem' and his talk of a possible Kim Jong Un meeting place the theft at the centre of a delicate geopolitical question.
- The coming days will reveal whether the money can be traced through DeFi and instant swap services, and whether this attribution cools or complicates diplomacy with Pyongyang.
On the last day of October, the FBI named North Korea as the force behind a theft of more than six billion dollars in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest exchange, a loss that now stands as the biggest in the short history of digital assets. Investigators say the stolen funds are being converted, mostly into Ethereum, and expect them to move through decentralised platforms as the trail continues to lengthen. Binance has said it will carry the damage itself, having already covered most of the loss and promised to reopen withdrawals soon. The attribution arrives amid a fragile hope of diplomacy with Pyongyang, so the question now is whether a crime of this scale will shape what comes next between Washington and North Korea.
On October 31, the FBI announced that North Korea was behind the theft of more than US$6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance. Working with the US Secret Service and the IRS criminal investigation division, agents watched the hackers, whom the bureau calls TraderTraitor, begin turning the stolen assets mostly into Ethereum. The next step, investigators believe, will be moving the funds through decentralised finance platforms and instant swap services, and that is where the trail will be hardest to follow.
TraderTraitor is described as an elite North Korean hacking unit already blamed for the 2025 Bybit theft of US$1.5 billion. North Korean hackers have a long record against crypto exchanges, and experts call this heist the largest in the history of the industry, with a loss put at US$6.3 billion. The shock has reached far beyond Binance.
Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has told its users they will not bear any of the damage. It says it has already covered about 90% of the loss and expects to restore withdrawals by November 1.
The politics ran ahead of the findings. The day before, President Trump had said the US was checking whether North Korea was involved, calling the episode simply a hack and questioning how easily crypto money disappears. The attribution also lands while Trump has floated a possible 2026 meeting with Kim Jong Un, though he had recently sounded less certain anyone wanted one. Whether this crime reshapes that opening is the question now watched closely.
On Oct 31, the FBI put out a statement naming North Korea as the party behind the theft of more than US$6 billion (S$7.67 billion) in cryptocurrency from Binance. The bureau said it was working with the US Secret Service and the criminal investigation division of the Internal Revenue Service, and that together they had observed actors it calls TraderTraitor converting the stolen assets, mostly into Ethereum.
The statement also described what investigators expect next. According to the FBI, the assets are likely to be moved further through decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms and instant swap services, as the hackers prepare them for later stages of laundering. That is the part of the trail investigators will be watching.
TraderTraitor is described as an elite North Korean hacking unit. The FBI previously blamed it for the Bybit hack, a US$1.5 billion theft in 2025. North Korean hackers have a long record against crypto exchanges. The FBI and cybersecurity experts have accused them of some of the biggest heists in recent years, including the theft of about US$620 million in cryptocurrency in 2022.
Experts say the Binance hack is the largest in the history of cryptocurrency and one of the largest cyber incidents of any kind. The loss is put at US$6.3 billion. It sent shockwaves through an industry that has been trying to win broader mainstream adoption.
Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, has said users will not bear the damage. In a social media post on Oct 31, it repeated that it will absorb the full impact of the theft. It said it has already covered about 90% of the US$6.3 billion, and that it plans to restore withdrawals by Nov 1. That puts the exchange on course toward its pledge to reimburse customers in full.
The politics arrived before the attribution did. On Oct 30, President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the US was looking into whether North Korea was involved. He said of the exchange, "They're saying they're guaranteeing it or something," and added, "It was a hack. That's the problem." Contrasting crypto with signing a check, he said that with these different people you "never see the money anymore," and that he had always felt it was a little bit dangerous.
The FBI's finding lands against a diplomatic backdrop. In recent weeks Trump has floated new US outreach to North Korea, suggesting a meeting with leader Kim Jong Un could happen in 2026. Earlier in October, though, he played down those expectations, saying he was "not sure that anybody's asking for a meeting."
Two things to watch now: whether investigators can trace the funds as they pass through DeFi and instant swap services, and whether the formal attribution to Pyongyang affects the talks Trump has raised.
Citações Notáveis
The FBI has observed TraderTraitor actors converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum.— FBI statement, Oct 31
Binance reiterated that it will absorb the full impact of the theft so users won't suffer any losses.— Binance, social media post, Oct 31
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Leia o original em The Straits Times ↗
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