FBI says North Korea drained billions from Binance in minutes

The FBI identified North Korean hackers as the masterminds behind the theft of billions of dollars from Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The attack, which occurred this week, resulted in the loss of billions within a matter of minutes, setting a new record for the largest hack in the history of the digital asset industry.

The bureau issued a statement on Saturday linking the incident to a specific threat actor known as TraderTraitor. This group is responsible for the $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange last year, establishing a clear pattern of high-value targeting against major crypto platforms by North Korean state-backed entities.

Agents from the FBI are currently investigating how the funds were moved immediately after the breach. The probe indicates that the perpetrators primarily converted the stolen assets into ethereum, a major cryptocurrency. This conversion step is a common tactic used by hackers to obscure the origin of illicit funds and facilitate their movement across global blockchain networks.

To prevent the stolen money from being washed through the financial system, the FBI issued an urgent request to crypto exchanges and blockchain analytics firms. The bureau asked these entities to block transactions associated with specific wallet addresses identified in the investigation. This coordinated effort aims to freeze the assets before they are transferred to cold storage or mixed with legitimate funds.

The discovery comes as the broader crypto market grapples with security concerns following a series of high-profile breaches. The scale of the Binance theft has intensified scrutiny of how major exchanges protect their user reserves. Analysts are closely watching the movement of the stolen ethereum to determine if the hackers are attempting to off-ramp the funds into traditional bank accounts.

The FBI’s designation of North Korea as the likely culprit aligns with previous intelligence reports that have linked the nation to sophisticated cyber operations aimed at financial gain. The agency noted that the speed of the transfer and the specific technical methods used during the breach matched the signature of TraderTraitor’s previous operations.

The next phase of the investigation will focus on tracking the ethereum as it moves through the blockchain. Law enforcement agencies are working to identify the points of exit where the digital currency was swapped for stablecoins or fiat currency. The FBI plans to coordinate with international partners to trace the full path of the stolen billions.