Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said about $6.3 billion in funds was stolen in a security incident that analysts describe as the biggest crypto theft on record. The exchange said roughly $3 billion has been frozen and that it will cover all customer losses.
The blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, which it described as North Korea's elite hacking unit. "We make this judgment with high confidence," TRM said. The firm said an attacker moved approximately USD 6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains, most of it in about 20 minutes.
Binance said an initial investigation suggested a hacker made unauthorized transactions after gaining access to an engineer's compromised laptop. CBS News reported that a later probe found additional "points of breach." Binance said it had "found no evidence of any wallet private key leak" and would release a detailed technical post-mortem once its investigation is complete.
Binance said withdrawals were suspended and are expected to resume in the next day or two, and that deposits were unaffected. Al Jazeera reported that the exchange said on Thursday it had suspended all deposits and withdrawals. Binance said user funds are safe.
"Our teams are working around the clock to resolve this issue safely and thoroughly," Binance said in a statement to Al Jazeera. The company said it is working with law enforcement partners to confirm the identity of the attackers.
Jonathan Levin, co-founder and CEO of Chainalysis, said on social media the hack was "likely done" by TraderTraitor. Analysts believe its members are part of the wider Lazarus Group, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. The FBI has said TraderTraitor targeted the Bybit exchange in 2025 in an attack that cost $1.5 billion, the previous record for a crypto theft.
"When North Korea steals at this scale, the money funds weapons proliferation and other destabilising activity. That makes this a global security issue, not just a crypto theft," said Ari Redbord, TRM's global head of policy.
Changpeng Zhao, Binance's founder and largest shareholder, said on social media that the theft "does look like a hack on Binance." Zhao, who no longer manages the company, said, "As a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered."
Kok Tin Gan, co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm NyxLab, said the incident raises questions about why stronger approval controls were not in place. He said it looks like one signature gave the attacker a never-expiring, full-access token to a Binance hot wallet.
The price of Bitcoin fell about 5 per cent after the theft, dropping below $77,000, according to Al Jazeera. Binance holds about $155 billion in assets under management, according to CoinMarketCap.
Comments (0)
Please log in to comment.
No comments yet.