FBI Ties Binance’s $6B Hack to North Korea’s TraderTraitor

The FBI said North Korea was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance on or about Oct. 29, naming the activity TraderTraitor. The bureau’s Oct. 31 announcement urges crypto services to block transactions linked to addresses used to launder the funds.

How much was stolen from Binance?

Binance lost $6.3 billion in bitcoin and other digital currency, the Associated Press reported, describing it as the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. The FBI’s notice puts the theft at more than $6 billion and dates it to around Oct. 29.

The Associated Press report said the exchange had set aside enough of the same digital currencies to cover 90% of the missing assets and promised to reimburse customers in full.

How is the group moving the stolen crypto?

The FBI said its investigation found TraderTraitor converting the assets mainly into ether. It expects the group to use decentralized finance services and instant swaps for further laundering.

The bureau named the group as responsible for the Binance theft and linked it to a $1.5 billion Bybit hack last year, according to AP. The FBI did not detail the method used to breach Binance in its notice.

What happens next?

The FBI, U.S. Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation are asking node operators, instant exchanges, DeFi services, blockchain analytics firms and other virtual asset providers to block transactions from or connected to listed addresses.

The FBI published Ethereum addresses it said hold or previously held assets from the theft. It expects the laundering effort to continue through DeFi and instant swap services, and is asking private-sector operators to monitor and block related transactions.

Source material

• Oct. 31 announcement — fbi.gov
• Associated Press report — apnews.com