Binance has restored withdrawals after hackers stole more than $6 billion in virtual assets from the cryptocurrency exchange in an attack the FBI attributed to North Korea.
The US law enforcement agency issued its assessment as Binance sought to reassure customers that it would absorb the losses. The company said it had drawn on its own funds to purchase replacement tokens, recovering about 90% of the stolen assets.
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Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume. News of the breach sent most major digital currencies sharply lower on Friday.
The FBI’s conclusion confirmed earlier findings from private investigators and analysts, who had linked the attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korea-affiliated hacking group.
“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 statement said.
The agency said it had seen “TraderTraitor actors” convert the stolen assets into Ethereum. It warned that the funds were likely to be moved through decentralised finance platforms and instant-swap services as the hackers attempted to launder them.
The FBI urged private-sector companies “to block transactions with or derived from addresses TraderTraitor actors are using to launder these stolen assets”.
‘Binance pledges to cover the financial losses’
Binance said it had reserved more than $6.34bn in company funds to make good on the losses caused by the breach.
“Our commitment remains the same: Binance will fully cover the financial impact of the funds stolen in this incident,” the company said on X.
The exchange said it had used corporate funds to buy tokens replacing 90% of the stolen assets. The remaining 10%, it said, consists of tokens that are “less liquid, which means they may take longer to source in the required amounts”.
The Binance attack comes amid growing concern that the rapidly advancing capabilities of artificial intelligence could eventually threaten cryptographic systems and wider IT security protocols.
The scale of the hack has put a spotlight on North Korea
Bitcoin fell almost 5% after news of the attack emerged, while Ethereum lost nearly 6%. BNB, Binance’s native token, dropped by almost 10%.
Binance said on Friday that it was working to contain what it described as a “complex attack” involving several “points of breach”.
The extraordinary size of the theft has renewed attention on North Korea’s ability to generate revenue through illicit activity, as the country remains under extensive international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes.
TraderTraitor is widely believed to be linked to the Lazarus Group, which drew global attention in 2014 after being accused of hacking Sony Pictures in retaliation for “The Interview”, a film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
