FBI Blames North Korea for $6.3B Binance Theft

The FBI has attributed the theft of approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets from Binance to North Korea, identifying the operation as “TraderTraitor.” According to the agency, the attackers have converted much of the stolen cryptocurrency into Ether and are expected to use DeFi platforms and instant-swap services to advance the laundering process. The FBI urged THORNode operators, RPC providers, exchanges, DeFi services and blockchain analytics companies to block transactions involving addresses linked to the operation.

The reported theft triggered political attention as early voting began ahead of the November 3 US election. President Donald Trump said the administration was investigating the Binance incident and noted the exchange’s promise to return the stolen funds. Binance said it would absorb the financial impact rather than place the losses on its users, adding that roughly $3 billion of the stolen assets had been frozen in several locations. By Saturday, the exchange said it had covered 90% of the affected amount.

Crypto-linked equities also reacted to the breach, with Coinbase leading a selloff in the sector. The timing intensified speculation about the hack’s potential influence on the election, although it was unclear whether the incident had created an immediate political advantage for either side.

The FBI’s warning highlights how stolen digital assets can be moved rapidly across blockchain networks and laundering tools. Its call for coordinated action from exchanges, node operators and analytics firms could affect whether the attackers manage to convert and withdraw the remaining funds before they are blocked.