Binance says 90% of losses from $6.3bn hack covered as FBI says North Korea behind attack

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance says it has replaced 90 per cent of the ⁠amount stolen after a record $6.3 billion (€5.63 billion) hack of its platform by a group the FBI identified as being backed by North Korea.

The remaining 10 per cent of tokens are less liquid, meaning they ⁠may take ​longer to buy, the company said in a post on X on Saturday. Co-chief executive Richard Teng said separately that the company was “committed to covering the ⁠remaining 10 per cent” and that “users will not bear the financial impact of this incident”.

Binance suspended user withdrawals after the hack, but said on Sunday that some had resumed and would be rolled out in phases to ensure stability.

The announcement came as the FBI on Saturday confirmed earlier suspicions from private investigators and analysts that a North Korea-affiliated group called TraderTraitor was behind the hack.

TraderTraitor is believed to be part of the Lazarus Group, which gained notoriety in 2014 when it was accused of hacking into Sony Pictures as revenge for The Interview, a film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is releasing information advising the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion USD in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026,” the law enforcement agency said in a statement.

The FBI added that it had observed “TraderTraitor actors” converting stolen assets into ethereum, and expected those assets to be laundered further by converting them using decentralised finance and instant swap services.

It said it was urging private sector entities “to block transactions with or derived from addresses TraderTraitor actors are using to launder these stolen assets”.

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Teng said on Friday that the breach was a “complex attack” involving a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to delete evidence of its activity, making it ‌harder to trace and investigate.

Binance said it had set aside around $6.34 billion of company funds to cover the losses.

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

The money spent rebuying tokens came from using part of its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users, a bitcoin reserve it holds to protect customers in the event of security breaches, as well as some ⁠of its Futures Insurance Fund and the company’s own corporate treasury, it said ​on X.

The attack on Binance came as many observers express worries that the ever-expanding capabilities of artificial intelligence models could compromise cryptography and IT security protocols.

Bitcoin plunged nearly 5 per cent after the news of the hack, while ethereum dropped nearly 6 per cent and BNB, native to Binance, tumbled nearly 10 per cent.

The sheer scale of the hack has put a spotlight on the capacity of North Korea – which faces extensive international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes – to find illicit means to capture revenue. – Guardian