FBI accuses North Korea of Binance hack

The FBI has accused North Korea of stealing $US6.3 billion n ($6.9 million) in virtual assets from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, in what is thought to be the biggest crypto heist in history.

In a statement, the US bureau said the North Korean state-sponsored unit known as TraderTraitor was responsible for the "malicious cyber activity".

On Thursday, $US6.3 billion in bitcoin and other digital currency was stolen from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, in what several crypto experts said bore the hallmarks of a North Korean hack.

The FBI's statement came as Binance offered reassurances it was covering the losses from the hacking attack, saying it has used company funds to buy tokens to replenish 90 per cent of what was stolen.

The FBI asked crypto exchanges, blockchain analytics companies and others to block transactions linked to various addresses to make sure the money is not laundered to cover up its origins.

"The FBI maintains its commitment to protecting the virtual asset community by identifying, mitigating, and disrupting North Korea's illicit cybercrime and virtual asset theft activities," it said.

It also said its probe found that TraderTraitor was converting stolen assets primarily into a cryptocurrency called Ethereum.

The FBI said it expects TraderTraitor would now attempt to convert the assets using de-centralised finance (DeFi) and "instant swap services".

"It is expected these assets will then be further laundered," it said.

They are the same actors behind a $US1.5 billion Bybit hack last year.

'Cat and mouse game' of tracking assets

Crypto expert and chief policy officer at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs Ari Redbord said he expected the hackers would break the stolen assets into pieces and try to launder them through smaller exchanges to evade detection, a process that could unfold over months.

"It's bank robbery, in this case, at the speed of the internet,"

Mr Redbord said.

"However, we can also track and trace those funds in real time in order to build investigations, to disrupt and to seize back funds.

"It's just this cat and mouse game."

90 per cent of assets recovered, Binance says

On Saturday, Binance said it had enough set aside in the same digital currency that was stolen, to cover 90 per cent of the missing assets.

"Our commitment remains the same: Binance will fully cover the financial impact of the funds stolen in this incident," the company said on X.

It said the outstanding 10 per cent consists of tokens that are less liquid, which means they may take longer to source in the required amounts.

Binance suspended user withdrawals after the hack, but said in its latest update that they were on track to resume Sunday.

Reuters/AFP/AP