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Crypto research firm Elliptic reports that hackers believed tied to North Korea are minting meme coins to launder crypto stolen in a $6.3 billion hack of Binance last month. The firm identified at least six such tokens, created shortly after the heist, including one featuring an image of Elon Musk under an 'Elon 2028 President' banner. Elliptic estimates roughly $430,000 has been laundered this way so far.
Binance published a security update attributing last week's theft of $6.34 billion from its wallets to a social-engineering attack in which an engineer downloaded malicious software during a fake job interview. The exchange said hackers used that foothold to move through its network, exploit an internal AI tool, and access a wallet signing service to make unauthorized transactions outside normal withdrawal controls on October 29.
Kim Yo-jong, North Korea's General Affairs Department director and sister of Kim Jong Un, denied that Pyongyang was behind the $6.3bn theft from crypto exchange Binance, calling the accusation a US provocation. The FBI, Secret Service and cyber analysts have attributed the hack, the largest on record, to the state-linked group TraderTraitor, also known as Lazarus Group.
Binance disclosed that attackers, identified by the FBI as North Korea's TraderTraitor group, compromised a developer's laptop to access an internal service container capable of initiating withdrawal requests. The attackers then exploited further weaknesses and an Ethereum account-delegation mechanism to gain transaction approval authority over a hot wallet, draining billions in assets within about 20 minutes. Binance says there is no evidence leaked wallet keys were used, and that the breach involved multiple points of compromise beyond the initial device.
Binance customers pulled a net $3.64bn from the exchange on Sunday as trading resumed following a suspension triggered by what is thought to be the largest crypto hack ever, affecting $6.3bn in assets. The FBI and other bodies have blamed North Korea for the breach, and Binance says it has covered about 95% of the stolen funds while vowing to cover the rest.
The FBI has officially attributed the October 29 theft of roughly $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group also known as Lazarus Group, Jade Sleet, and APT38. The attack, previously tied by Binance to a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, moved stolen funds across ten blockchains within about 20 minutes, and authorities have released 628 associated wallet addresses while urging exchanges to block related transactions.
The FBI attributed a theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance around October 29, 2026 to North Korean hackers, naming the operation 'TraderTraitor.' Working with the Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI said the stolen funds are being converted primarily into Ethereum ahead of further laundering through DeFi platforms and instant swap services.
TRM Labs and Chainalysis both said with high confidence that the Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-linked hacking unit also known as TraderTraitor, was behind a $6.3bn theft from the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. The group has previously been blamed for other major cyberattacks, including the 2014 Sony Pictures breach.
Blockchain analysts say attackers tied to North Korea stole $6.3 billion from Binance in a matter of minutes. The theft reportedly exploited a contract that took advantage of a recent Ethereum network upgrade to drain funds at speed.
Blockchain intelligence firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis say the North Korean hacking unit TraderTraitor was likely responsible for an attack that moved roughly $6.3 billion out of Binance wallets across ten blockchains, much of it within about 20 minutes. Binance says it froze about $3 billion of the affected assets with partners, suspended withdrawals, and is beginning to restore funds to users while promising to cover all losses.
Binance has suspended withdrawals after a breach that drained $6.3 billion in digital assets in roughly 20 minutes. The exchange says it froze about $3 billion with partners, while research firm TRM Labs estimates $2.4 billion has moved beyond recovery. Binance pledged to cover all losses from reserve funds and is investigating with law enforcement.
Binance has halted all withdrawals following what it calls an estimated $6.3 billion loss, the largest crypto theft on record. The exchange says hackers compromised an engineer's laptop to withdraw funds, though it has since found additional breach points, while analysts estimate attackers converted roughly $3.3 billion into untraceable assets. Binance says it has reserved over $6.34 billion in company funds to cover the losses and is working with law enforcement.