{"id":12723,"date":"2026-10-31T03:21:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T03:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12723"},"modified":"2026-10-31T03:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T03:21:16","slug":"what-to-know-about-the-6-3-bil-hack-on-binance-likely-the-biggest-ever-crypto-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12723","title":{"rendered":"What to know about the $6.3 bil. hack on Binance, likely the biggest-ever crypto theft"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Binance logo is seen on a smartphone, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said Friday that hackers stole more than $6 billion in what appears to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. Blockchain firms have pointed to the attack coming from a North Korean hacking unit.<\/p>\n

The company said it has reserved more than $6.34 billion of company funds to cover the stolen assets and was beginning to recover assets for users. Binance worked with blockchain partners to freeze roughly $3 billion in affected assets.<\/p>\n

The cryptocurrency exchange has promised to cover all losses, and it has been sharing regular updates on its social media channels as it uncovers more information about the hack.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working nonstop to resolve this,\u201d Binance’s co-CEO Richard Teng said Friday in a video posted to X.<\/p>\n

In an exchange Friday with reporters at the White House, President Donald Trump said U.S. officials were investigating the Binance hack. Asked whether North Korea was involved, Trump said: \u201cWe\u2019re looking at that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here’s what we know about the hack, possible North Korean involvement and Binance’s investigation.<\/p>\n

North Korean hackers are suspected in the attack<\/strong><\/p>\n

Binance said on X that an initial investigation suggested the incident may have involved a compromised laptop, but that a subsequent investigation uncovered additional \u201cpoints of breach.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S.-based blockchain intelligence firm TRM, in a post on its website late Thursday, attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, which it described as North Korea\u2019s elite hacking unit. \u201cWe make this judgment with high confidence,\u201d the firm said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn attacker moved approximately USD 6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains, most of it in about 20 minutes,\u201d TRM said. \u201cSeveral features of this attack match earlier North Korea-linked heists.”<\/p>\n

Blockchain analysis company Chainalysis also believed the Binance hack was likely carried out by TraderTraitor, its co-founder and CEO Jonathan Levin wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Asked about the potential ties to North Korea, a Binance spokesperson said only that the company is \u201cworking closely with our law enforcement partners to confirm the identity of the criminals and bring them to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experts have said that North Korea turned to crypto hacking and other illicit cyber activities in recent years as a source of badly needed foreign currency to support its troubled economy and fund its nuclear program in the wake of tough U.N. sanctions and other difficulties.<\/p>\n

In December 2022, South Korea\u2019s spy agency said North Korean hackers had stolen an estimated 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in cryptocurrency and other virtual assets over the past five years, more than half of it in 2022 alone. It said North Korea\u2019s capacity to steal digital assets was considered among the world’s best.<\/p>\n

Many are calling this the biggest crypto theft on record<\/strong><\/p>\n

While about half of the stolen assets were frozen, there is evidence that the hackers already are transferring and converting some of what wasn\u2019t recovered, said Garrick Hileman, an independent cryptocurrency analyst.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike in money laundering, you bring in the stolen goods and launder those through a mixer or tumbler,\u201d he said. \u201cYou mix it in with other cryptos, and it\u2019s harder to track.\u201d<\/p>\n

How long it will take the hackers to turn that into something usable isn\u2019t clear, he said. \u201cThe bottom line is there are places in the world where you can take your bitcoin and get that converted,\u201d Hileman said.<\/p>\n

TRM and several other crypto firms and experts have said the hack represents the largest cryptocurrency theft on record.<\/p>\n

In February of last year, another cryptocurrency exchange, Bybit, suffered a $1.5 billion hit when it was hacked. The FBI said North Korea and TraderTraitor were responsible for the hack. TRM listed the Bybit hack when it referenced similarities between the Binance hack and previous attacks linked to TraderTraitor.<\/p>\n

Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, wrote on X that while Binance’s hack might be the largest in terms of its dollar value, previous attacks on other companies like the crypto exchange Mt. Gox have had a more substantial impact in terms of the bitcoin amount affected, he said.<\/p>\n

Experts warn this scale of hacking could become more commonplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cA cyber attack of this level is a matter of when, not if, particularly alongside the rise of AI,\u201d said Andy Ward, a senior vice president at Absolute Security. \u201cCyber threats are becoming more sophisticated and widespread as ever, and it is likely only a matter of time before an even larger hack, with even greater financial fallout, makes headlines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where experts \u2014 and Binance \u2014 say things went wrong<\/strong><\/p>\n

The hack has raised questions about why stronger approval controls were not in place, said Kok Tin Gan, co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm NyxLab.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis looks like one signature that gave the attacker a never-expiring, full-access token to a Binance hot wallet,\u201d he said, referring to cryptocurrency wallets that hold users’ \u201cprivate keys,\u201d or unique authorizations, digitally and that are connected to the internet.<\/p>\n

Teng, Binance\u2019s co-CEO, confirmed in a nearly five-minute video posted on X Friday that Binance’s own hot wallet was affected. \u201cUser assets are held under Binance’s established security architecture,” he said. “The vast majority sits in cold wallets\u201d \u2014 which are offline and used for secure storage \u2014 \u201cand are only moved into a hot wallet when a user makes withdrawal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teng said Binance’s tech and security teams are \u201cstill deep\u201d in investigating the hack. He said it was not carried out by one person and that the attackers used complex tactics, including a “self-destruct mechanism” that is making the incident more difficult to investigate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working with law enforcement, blockchain intelligence firms, token issuers and other exchanges to trace and recover stolen funds,” Teng said. “We will do everything within our power to make sure that these bad actors will be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Binance has said deposits were unaffected, while withdrawals have been suspended and are expected to resume in the next day or two.<\/p>\n

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The Binance logo is seen on a smartphone, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. AP-Yonhap Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said Friday that hackers stole more than $6 billion in what appears to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. Blockchain firms have pointed to the attack coming from a North Korean hacking…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-korea","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t