The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has accused North Korea of orchestrating the theft of more than $6.3bn in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
The FBI said a North Korean-linked hacking group, TraderTraitor, was responsible for the attack, which occurred around October 29, 2026.
In a statement on Saturday, the agency said it had observed the hackers converting stolen assets into Ethereum and warned that they could move the funds through decentralised finance platforms and instant swap services to conceal their origins.
It urged cryptocurrency firms and other private sector operators to block transactions linked to wallet addresses being used by the group.
The accusation came as Binance announced the phased resumption of withdrawals after suspending the service following the attack.
The exchange said the first batch of networks had reopened on Sunday, with other assets to be restored gradually after security and stability checks.
Binance also assured customers that it would absorb the financial impact of the theft, saying it had set aside more than $6.34bn in company funds to cover the losses.
The company said it had already used its funds to purchase tokens to replace about 90 per cent of the stolen assets, while the remaining 10 per cent could take longer to source because they were less liquid.
The attack, described as potentially the biggest cryptocurrency theft on record, triggered a sharp decline in major digital assets.
Bitcoin fell by nearly five per cent, Ethereum dropped about six per cent, while Binance’s native BNB token lost almost 10 per cent following news of the breach.
TraderTraitor is believed to be linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which has been accused of carrying out several high-profile cyberattacks, including the 2014 breach of Sony Pictures.
US President Donald Trump, however, expressed uncertainty about North Korea’s involvement, telling reporters in Florida on Saturday: “We don’t know if it’s North Korea.”
TraderTraitor was also blamed for the theft of $1.5bn from cryptocurrency platform Bybit in February 2025.
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