Threats & Adversaries · Financial Fraud

Binance phases withdrawals as record theft enters laundering

The FBI attributed Binance’s record $6.43 billion cryptocurrency theft to North Korea-aligned TraderTraitor, as Binance began a phased restart of withdrawals after pausing them following the incident.

The FBI says the group is converting the stolen assets primarily into Ethereum, with decentralized finance (DeFi) and instant-swap services expected to move them into further laundering stages. The Hacker News reports that Tether, Circle, Ripple, Arbitrum and Optimism have frozen $2.85 billion on-chain.

For exchanges and compliance teams tracking the FBI-listed wallets, service recovery does not settle the asset picture: reported freezes cover less than half the haul, and the FBI expects further laundering.

3 sources · 4h ago

Timeline

• Nov 1 Reported by BleepingComputer
• Oct 30 Reported by TechCrunch Security

Sources

• Nov 1 BleepingComputer

  FBI links $6.3 billion Binance crypto heist to North Korean hackers

  The FBI has confirmed that North Korean state-sponsored hackers known as TraderTraitor were behind the $6.3 billion crypto-theft attack on Binance, making it the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.

  original

• Nov 1 The Hacker News

  FBI Links North Korea's TraderTraitor to Record $6.43 Billion Binance Crypto Heist

  The FBI attributes a $6 billion-plus crypto theft to North Korea-linked TraderTraitor as investigators track laundering through Ethereum.

  original

• Oct 30 TechCrunch Security

  North Korean hackers blamed for stealing record $6.3B in Binance breach | TechCrunch

  Hackers working for North Korea are suspected of hacking a Binance employee's laptop, which allowed the theft of billions in crypto.

  original

Part of the PlainSec briefing for 2026-11-01

Every edition of this story: Binance phases withdrawals as record theft enters laundering

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