Binance has suffered a $6.3 billion cryptocurrency theft in an attack that the FBI attributed to North Korean hackers, while the exchange pledged to cover the losses using company funds.
The FBI said in an October 31 statement that North Korea was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in digital assets from Binance on or around October 29, 2026. The agency identified the malicious cyber activity as TraderTraitor.
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng described the breach as a “complex attack.” The exchange said unauthorized withdrawals from its hot wallets resulted in the loss of approximately $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency.
FBI Tracks Stolen Assets Into Ethereum
Investigators have observed the attackers converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum, according to the FBI, which is working with the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division.
The agency expects the hackers to move the assets through decentralized finance platforms and instant-swap services as part of further money-laundering efforts.
Authorities urged cryptocurrency service providers, blockchain analytics companies and other industry participants to block transactions involving wallet addresses linked to the theft. The FBI published a list of addresses associated with the operation.
Binance Pledges to Cover Customer Losses
Binance said it would absorb the financial impact through its Secure Asset Fund for Users, known as SAFU, and corporate treasury.
In its initial update, the exchange said it had allocated more than $6.34 billion in company funds and already held approximately $5 billion in the affected cryptocurrencies. It was purchasing additional tokens through market and over-the-counter transactions.
A subsequent Reuters report said Binance had replaced roughly $6 billion of the stolen assets. The remaining shortfall involved less-liquid tokens that could take longer to acquire. Replacing the tokens with company funds is separate from recovering assets taken by the attackers.
Withdrawals Paused for Security Checks
Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals while reviewing its systems and implementing security measures. Its published update said deposits and other unaffected services remained operational.
The company outlined plans to restore withdrawals in phases, token by token, subject to security checks. It also said it was working with law enforcement agencies, blockchain investigators and asset issuers to trace and freeze stolen funds.
Investigation Finds Additional Breach Points
Binance said an early investigation pointed to a compromised laptop, but subsequent checks uncovered additional points of intrusion.
The exchange said it had found no evidence at that stage that wallet private keys had leaked. Investigators were still establishing the full sequence of events and assessing measures to prevent another breach.
