FBI says N. Korea responsible for over US$6 bln crypto theft from Binance

By Chang Dong-woo

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Saturday that North Korea was responsible for the theft of more than US$6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, earlier this week.

"The FBI is releasing information advising the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026," the agency said in a cyber alert, referring to North Korea by its official name.

The FBI identified the North Korean cyber operation as "TraderTraitor," a name previously associated with cryptocurrency thefts carried out by North Korean hackers.

The agency said it had observed the hackers converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum, a major cryptocurrency, in cooperation with the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division.

The FBI warned that the hackers were expected to further launder the stolen assets through decentralized finance platforms and cryptocurrency exchange services that allow users to quickly swap one digital asset for another.

The three U.S. agencies urged cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain operators, analytics firms and other virtual asset service providers to block transactions involving digital wallet addresses used by the North Korean hackers to launder the stolen funds.

The FBI's announcement follows an assessment by U.S. blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, which earlier attributed the estimated $6.36 billion Binance theft to TraderTraitor.

odissy@yna.co.kr
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