Cryptoupdated 1h ago2 min read
FBI Blames North Korea’s TraderTraitor for $6.3 Billion Binance Crypto Hack
“President Donald Trump suggested investigators weren't yet certain that North Korea was involved.”
“The FBI on Saturday said the North Korean state-sponsored unit known as TraderTraitor was responsible for the attack.”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
FBI says North Korea-linked TraderTraitor hacked Binance, stealing about $6.3 billion. Binance replenished 90% of stolen assets using company funds; 10% remain to recover.
Save coverage image
FBI blames North Korea
The FBI blamed North Korea for the Binance crypto hack after $US6.3 billion in bitcoin and other digital currency was stolen from the world’s largest crypto exchange. The FBI said the North Korean state-sponsored unit known as TraderTraitor carried out the "malicious cyber activity" and it found TraderTraitor was converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum. Binance said it had enough funds set aside to cover 90 per cent of the stolen assets, and it said the remaining 10 per cent consisted of tokens that were less liquid.
The FBI asked crypto exchanges and blockchain analytics companies to block transactions linked to various addresses to make sure the money is not laundered to cover up its origins. A separate Binance update said withdrawals were on track to resume Sunday after the exchange suspended user withdrawals after the hack.
Tracking, laundering, and debate
The FBI said it expected TraderTraitor would attempt to convert the assets using de-centralised finance (DeFi) and "instant swap services" and that it was "expected these assets will then be further laundered." A crypto expert and chief policy officer at TRM Labs, Ari Redbord, said he expected the hackers would break the stolen assets into pieces and try to launder them through smaller exchanges to evade detection. President Donald Trump told reporters, "We don’t know if it’s North Korea," while he said investigators were learning about the case.
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the breach was a "complex attack" involving a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to delete evidence of its activity, making it hard to trace and investigate. Binance said it would continue to buy the remaining relevant token assets until the covered amount reached 100 percent for all tokens, and it said it would absorb the financial impact, not users.
What comes next
The FBI urged virtual asset service providers to block transactions being used in the latest laundering operation by providing suspected digital addresses to watch for. Binance said it would replace 90 percent of the amount stolen by using company money to buy new tokens, and it said the remaining 10 percent consisted of less liquid tokens that may take longer to buy. Binance said it had set aside around $6.34bn of company funds to cover the losses, and it said its next goal was resuming withdrawal services for users on Sunday 1 November.
Binance said it had published a new proof-of-reserves snapshot so users could independently verify that their assets were backed at a minimum 1:1 ratio. The FBI said it expects TraderTraitor to attempt further conversion and laundering in stages, as the investigation continued and Binance worked to restore access to customer funds.