FBI Blames North Korea for Record $6.3 Billion Binance Crypto Heist

The FBI formally accused North Korea on Saturday of orchestrating the largest cryptocurrency theft ever recorded, a $6.3 billion heist from exchange platform Binance around October 29, 2026. The agency attributed the attack to the hacker group TraderTraitor and stated the stolen funds are being converted into Ether for laundering. The FBI identified the North Korean group TraderTraitor as responsible and published roughly 500 Ethereum addresses being used to launder the assets, urging crypto platforms and DeFi services to block related transactions. The stolen amount is four times larger than the $1.5 billion the same group siphoned from ByBit in February 2025. Binance, which claims 335 million users, suspended withdrawals after the theft but said clients would not be harmed, having already replenished 90 percent of the stolen amount. The attack highlights North Korea's illicit revenue generation amid international sanctions, with TraderTraitor linked to the Lazarus group and the country's cyber warfare unit.