The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has accused North Korea of stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance in what is thought to be the biggest-ever crypto heist.
The FBI said this in a statement issued on Saturday, October 31, 2026.
The US law enforcement agency’s statement came as Binance offered reassurances it was covering the losses from the hacking attack, saying it has used company funds to buy tokens to replenish 90 percent of what was stolen.
Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes. News of the cyberattack caused the prices of most major cryptocurrencies to fall sharply on Friday.
The FBI confirmed earlier suspicions from private investigators and analysts that a North Korea-affiliated group called TraderTraitor was behind the hack.
TraderTraitor is the same group blamed for a $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit platform in February 2025.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is releasing information advising the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion USD in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026,” the FBI said.
The FBI added that it had observed “TraderTraitor actors” converting stolen assets into Ethereum, and expected those assets to be laundered further by converting them using decentralized finance and instant swap services.
It said it was urging private sector entities “to block transactions with or derived from addresses TraderTraitor actors are using to launder these stolen assets.”
United States President Donald Trump, however, cast doubt on the North Korea’s involvement in the hack.
“I’m not concerned. We’re learning about it. We don’t know if it’s North Korea,” Trump told reporters at his residence in Florida late Saturday.
Binance probes $6.3bn security breach, assures users funds are safe
The president often reflects with pride on summits he held with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his first term, AFP reported.
Binance said on Saturday it has set aside more than $6.34 billion in company funds to cover losses in the hack.
“Our commitment remains the same: Binance will fully cover the financial impact of the funds stolen in this incident,” the company said on X.
It said it has used company money to buy tokens to replenish 90 per cent of the stolen funds, while the remaining 10 per cent of tokens are “less liquid, which means they may take longer to source in the required amounts.”
Binance suspended user withdrawals after the hack, but said in its latest update they were on track to resume on Sunday.
“Update: We have already covered $6B of the impacted amount of the hacked loss,” it said in a post on X in the early hours of Sunday.
Bitcoin plunged nearly five per cent after the news of the hack, while Ethereum dropped nearly six per cent and BNB, native to Binance, tumbled nearly 10 per cent.
Binance said on Friday it was working to resolve what it called a “complex attack” with several “points of breach.”
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