The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Saturday accused North Korea of stealing over $6 billion in digital assets from the Binance exchange. This incident is recognized as the largest cryptocurrency theft in history.
Compensation by Binance
Binance, which is the largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, has attempted to reassure users that it will cover the losses and has stated that it used corporate resources to purchase tokens to replace 90% of the stolen assets.
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This theft caused a significant drop in the prices of most cryptocurrencies on Friday. The FBI also confirmed that a group linked to North Korea called TraderTraitor was responsible for this hack. This group had previously been accused of stealing $1.5 billion from the Bybit platform last February.
Impact on the Cryptocurrency Market
The FBI stated that North Korea is "responsible for the theft of over $6 billion in virtual assets from the Binance exchange around October 29, 2026." The agency also expressed concern that TraderTraitor actors are converting the stolen assets into Ethereum and expect these assets to be laundered through decentralized financial services and instant exchanges.
The U.S. government, particularly former President Donald Trump, has made statements expressing doubt about North Korea's involvement in this theft, stating, "We are learning about it and do not know if this is North Korea's doing or not."
On Saturday, Binance announced that it has set aside over $6.34 billion from corporate resources to cover the losses. The company also stated that it has purchased tokens to return 90% of the stolen funds. The remaining 10% may take longer to secure due to illiquidity.
Binance also halted user withdrawals following the hack, but in the latest update, it announced that these withdrawals will resume on Sunday. This hack has been described as a "sophisticated attack" with multiple "points of entry."
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