This story has moved onBinance Resumes Withdrawals After $6.3 Billion HackLatest · Nov 1 · 2 newer steps

Updated 6d ago · Tech

FBI Blames North Korea for $6.3 Billion Binance Hack

The FBI said Saturday that North Korean hackers stole $6.3 billion in crypto from Binance. The theft happened Thursday, Oct. 29.

$1.5 billion: TraderTraitor's Bybit theft last year, per the FBI.
20 minutes: how long the asset transfer took, TRM Labs said.
$3 billion in affected assets was frozen on-chain, Binance said.
Binance blamed an engineer's compromised laptop and evidence-deleting malware.

Why it matters: The FBI said the hackers are converting stolen assets mostly into ethereum. It asked exchanges and analytics firms to block transactions from listed addresses.

90% of stolen value is covered by reserves, Binance said.
Crypto prices fell Friday after news of the theft.

The story so far

4 steps · since Oct 29

Oct 29Binance Estimates $6.3 Billion Hit in Likely Record Crypto Hack72 sources
Oct 307:25 AMFBI Blames North Korea for $6.3 Billion Binance HackYou are here
Oct 306:17 PMBinance Says It Has Replenished 90% of $6.3 Billion Hack15 sources
Nov 1Binance Resumes Withdrawals After $6.3 Billion Hack22 sourcesLatest

How 42 sources split on this story

Source landscape

Factuality

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Strong LeftLeftLean LeftCenterLean RightRightStrong Right

Political Bias

Coverage by lean% of 42 sources

42 sources · 63 articles · 50% Center coverage

Where they split: The coverage differs on certainty: the FBI names North Korea, while President Donald Trump said, "We don't know if it's North Korea."

Center coverage, 21 sources: The center pairs the FBI finding with Trump's doubts and an analyst's view of a long tracing effort.

CTV News6dNorth Korea denies involvement in Binance hack and criticizes FBI probe as 'a trite provocation'Bloomberg1w+North Korea Denies Role in $6.3 Billion Binance Crypto Heist Deutsche Welle1w+North Korea denies role in record Binance hack, calls US charge 'provocation'Financial Times1w+North Korean hackers expected to take months to launder stolen Binance billions Jerusalem Post6dBinance: Hackers used fake job interview, AI tool to gain access to computers, steal $6.3 billion Asia Times1w+How North Korea became the crypto heist king - Asia Times Associated Press1w+FBI blames North Korea for stolen billions from Binance in biggest hack in history Axios1w+How North Korea perfected the crypto heist BBC News1w+Why North Korea's 'elite' hackers are the prime suspect in major Binance hack Forbes1w+From Bangladesh Bank To Binance: The North Korean Cybercrime Wave Fortune6dNorth Korea used LinkedIn, fake job interviews to trick Binance engineer in $6.3 billion hack | Fortune France 241w+North Korea rejects US allegations over $6 billion Binance crypto heist Japan Times1w+FBI blames North Korea for $6 billion Binance crypto hack Newsweek1w+FBI Says North Korea Behind $6 Billion Binance Crypto Theft PBS NewsHour1w+FBI says North Korea was behind $6.3 billion Binance heist, the biggest crypto hack in history PennLive1w+$6.3 billion vanished in minutes. The FBI says it knows who did it.Semafor1w+North Korea blamed for crypto heist The Hill1w+Trump says US looking into Binance hack: ‘We don’t know’ if North Korea responsible Times of Israel1w+FBI blames North Korea for stealing billions from world’s largest crypto firm WPLG Local 101w+North Korea denies involvement in Binance hack and criticizes FBI probe as 'a trite provocation'Yahoo News1w+FBI links record $6.3 billion Binance crypto theft to North Korea

Left coverage, 8 sources: The left frames it as a straight FBI attribution story centered on the theft's record size and the laundering hunt.

The Independent6dHow a fake job and rogue AI allowed hackers to pull off what could be the biggest heist in history Al Jazeera1w+Binance restarts withdrawals after $6.3bn heist Business Insider1w+North Korea says it wasn't behind the $6.3 billion Binance hack Cleveland.com1w+$6.3 billion vanished in minutes. The FBI says it knows who did it.Political Wire1w+North Korea Denies Role in Binance Heist The Guardian1w+Binance says 90% of losses from $6.3bn hack covered as FBI says North Korea behind attack The New York Times1w+North Korean Hackers May Have Stolen Billions. It Wouldn’t Be Their First Heist.The Verge1w+North Korea linked to massive Binance crypto heist

Right coverage, 13 sources: The right emphasizes the FBI's confirmation of North Korean responsibility, with some outlets adding Binance's legal history and its founder's pardon.

Daily Mail1w+FBI confirms North Korea was responsible for 'biggest hack in history' after $6.3billion was stolen from crypto giant Binance The Epoch Times1w+North Korea Denies Responsibility for $6.3 Billion Binance Crypto Heist Just the News1w+Cybersecurity | Just The News New York Post1w+FBI blames North Korea for stealing $6.3B from Binance in biggest crypto heist in history American Greatness1w+FBI Blames North Korean Hackers for $6 Billion Cryptocurrency Heist › American Greatness Legal Insurrection1w+FBI Blames North Korea for Record $6.3 Billion Binance Crypto Heist Newsmax1w+FBI: North Korea Behind $6 Billion-Plus Binance Crypto Heist NTD1w+FBI Blames North Korea for Stolen Billions From Binance in Biggest Hack in History The Sun1w+North Korea’s shady Lazarus Group behind ‘biggest heist in history’ as FBI blames regime for $6.3bn crypto hack The Washington Times1w+FBI blames North Korea for stolen billions from Binance in biggest hack in history The Western Journal1w+North Korean Hackers Pulled Off 'Largest Bank Heist in Human History' by Infiltrating Crypto Exchange Wall Street Journal1w+Eager to Rebut Rogue-Nation Image, North Korea Denies Role in Binance Heist ZeroHedge1w+FBI Says North Korea Behind $6 Billion Binance Heist

What’s next: The FBI expects the hackers to move funds through DeFi and instant swap services. Ari Redbord of TRM Labs said laundering through smaller exchanges could take months.

Binance said withdrawals would reopen Sunday.
Binance plans to rebuild its user protection fund to about $1 billion.
How much of the stolen crypto can investigators trace and recover?
Why did Trump question an attribution his own FBI had made public?
How long will it take Binance to cover the remaining 10% of less liquid tokens?