Binance heist exposes the real weak point: transaction authorization, not cryptography

The largest cryptocurrency theft in history, targeting Binance on October 29, involved approximately $6.36 billion in digital assets and was completed in just 20 minutes, according to initial analyses. The attack did not require breaking the blockchain's cryptography. Investigators, including TRM Labs, attribute the attack to North Korean-linked group TraderTraitor, which exploited Binance's signature infrastructure to authorize valid transfers. The attackers used EIP-7702 functionality on Ethereum to delegate wallet control to a smart contract, moving 167,464 ethers and other tokens. The incident highlights the distinction between blockchain security and the systems authorizing transactions, with attacks also affecting wallets across nine other blockchains. Microsoft has separately documented North Korean actors' use of AI, though no direct link to this attack has been established.