Binance recovers 90% of $6.3 billion stolen in hack

Users of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance will not lose money in the largest crypto theft on record, company leaders said on Saturday. The platform was hit for $6.3 billion on October 29, but Binance has already replaced 90% of those lost assets. Co-CEO Richard Teng stated that the remaining 10% consists of less liquid tokens that may take longer to purchase. He added that users will not bear the financial impact of the incident.

Binance set aside approximately $6.34 billion in company funds to cover the losses. The company drew from its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users, a bitcoin reserve designed for security breaches, as well as its Futures Insurance Fund and corporate treasury. Binance suspended user withdrawals immediately after the hack but announced on Saturday that it is on track to resume them on Sunday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed on Saturday that a North Korea-affiliated group called TraderTraitor was responsible for the theft. The agency stated that North Korea was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets on or about October 29, 2026. The FBI noted that TraderTraitor actors converted the stolen assets into Ethereum. The agency expects these assets to be laundered further using decentralized finance and instant swap services. It urged private sector entities to block transactions with or derived from addresses used by TraderTraitor actors.

TraderTraitor is believed to be part of the Lazarus Group, which gained notoriety in 2014 for hacking Sony Pictures. That attack was a response to the film The Interview, which mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The FBI release aligns with earlier suspicions held by private investigators and analysts.

Teng described the breach on Friday as a complex attack involving a compromised laptop and malicious software. He said the software was designed to delete evidence of its activity to make tracing and investigating the attack harder. The sheer scale of the hack has drawn attention to North Korea's ability to capture revenue despite extensive international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs.

Market prices reacted sharply to the news of the hack. Bitcoin plunged nearly 5%, while Ethereum dropped nearly 6%. BNB, the token native to Binance, tumbled nearly 10%. Many observers expressed concern that the expanding capabilities of artificial intelligence models could compromise cryptography and IT security protocols.