FBI blames North Korea's TraderTraitor for Binance hack; exchange says it has replaced about 90% of losses
US investigators publicly named a North Korean state-backed group behind the theft of more than $6 billion in crypto assets, and warned that the funds are likely to be laundered further.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has said North Korean hackers were behind the theft of more than $6 billion in digital assets from crypto exchange Binance. It is the first public attribution by US federal investigators of what may be the largest crypto theft on record.
In a statement issued on Saturday, US time, the FBI named the group as TraderTraitor and described it as a North Korean state-sponsored unit. ABC News reported that the FBI linked the same group to the $1.5 billion theft from the exchange Bybit in 2025. Binance had earlier put its loss at about $6.3 billion.
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Where the money is going
According to the FBI, the attackers have mostly converted the stolen assets into Ethereum. It expects them to try to move the funds through decentralised finance platforms and instant swap services, followed by further laundering.
Working with the US Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation, the bureau has asked exchanges, blockchain analytics firms and other service providers to block transactions linked to wallet addresses it has published.
Ari Redbord of blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs told ABC News he expects the funds to be broken up and moved through smaller exchanges over months.
Binance says users will not bear the loss
Binance has said it will cover the full loss. The exchange said it had already set aside enough to replace about 90% of the stolen assets, and that major cryptocurrencies were fully backed. The remaining share is in less liquid tokens that may take longer to buy back. Withdrawals, suspended after the attack, were expected to resume on Sunday, ABC News reported.
US President Donald Trump told reporters his administration was still gathering information. "We don't know if it's North Korea," he said, according to Fox Business, adding that Washington would talk to Pyongyang if it was. North Korea has not responded to the allegation in the reports.
For Indian crypto users, the case is a reminder that even the largest platforms can be breached. It also shows how quickly stolen funds can be moved across borders and through many services, which makes recovery difficult.
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