NEW YORK — A North Korean hacking unit was likely behind an attack that moved more than $6 billion out of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, blockchain intelligence firms said.
“An attacker moved approximately USD 6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains, most of it in about 20 minutes,” TRM said, calling it the largest cryptocurrency theft on record, CBS News reported. TRM attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, which it described as North Korea’s elite hacking unit, “with high confidence.”
Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin also said the hack was likely carried out by TraderTraitor, according to CBS News and NPR.
Binance said it worked with partners to freeze roughly $3 billion of the affected assets and would cover all losses. Deposits were unaffected, but withdrawals were suspended and expected to resume within a day or two.
The company said an initial investigation pointed to a compromised laptop, but later work uncovered additional “points of breach.”
In February 2025, the FBI blamed North Korea and TraderTraitor for a $1.5 billion hack of the exchange Bybit. TRM said several features of the Binance attack matched that heist.
Sources: CBS News, NPR. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Wikideas1 / CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.
