Binance freezes $3B after North Korean hackers steal $6.3B

Binance has suspended withdrawals after losing roughly $6.36 billion to hackers, marking the largest cryptocurrency theft ever recorded. The exchange confirmed Friday that deposits remained unaffected while the company worked to secure its systems.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, a unit it describes as North Korea's elite hacking team. TRM stated in a Thursday post that it makes this judgment with high confidence. The firm noted that the attacker moved the funds across ten different blockchains, completing the majority of the transfer in approximately 20 minutes.

Chainalysis reached a similar conclusion. CEO Jonathan Levin wrote on X that the hack was likely executed by the North Korean group. He identified the perpetrators as members of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of the northern regime.

Binance disclosed that its initial investigation pointed to a compromised laptop. The company later found additional points of breach. A spokesperson said the exchange is working with law enforcement partners to identify the criminals. Binance pledged to cover all losses for users affected by the incident.

This theft follows a pattern of North Korean cyberactivity. In February 2025, the exchange Bybit suffered a $1.5 billion hack that the FBI also linked to North Korea and TraderTraitor. Experts indicate that the regime uses these illicit gains to fund its nuclear program and support its economy under United Nations sanctions.

Changpeng Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, addressed the incident on social media. Although he stepped down as CEO in 2023 and received a presidential pardon in 2025, Zhao stated that user funds are safe. As a shareholder, he expects the company to fully cover the missing assets.

Cybersecurity analysts are questioning the security controls in place. Kok Tin Gan, CEO of NyxLab, suggested the attacker may have used a single signature to create a permanent, full-access token for a hot wallet. Binance said it found no evidence of a private key leak and plans to release more technical details when its probe concludes.