FBI Blames North Korea for Billions Stolen in Biggest-Ever Cryptocurrency Heist

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has attributed the theft of billions of dollars in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, to North Korean hackers, describing it as the biggest crypto heist in history.

In a statement on Saturday, the FBI said the attack was linked to “malicious cyber activity” carried out by a group known as TraderTraitor, which was also responsible for last year’s $1.5 billion hack of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit.

The bureau urged cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain analytics firms and other industry participants to block transactions associated with identified wallet addresses to prevent the stolen funds from being laundered.

According to the FBI’s investigation, TraderTraitor has been converting the stolen assets primarily into Ethereum. The bureau expects the hackers to attempt further conversions through decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms and instant swap services.

The attack occurred on Thursday, when approximately $6.3 billion worth of Bitcoin and other digital currencies were stolen from Binance. Several cryptocurrency experts said the incident bore the hallmarks of a North Korean cyberattack.

Binance said on Saturday that it had sufficient reserves in the same cryptocurrencies that were stolen to cover 90 per cent of the missing assets.

The exchange also assured customers that they would receive full reimbursement for their losses.