North Korean hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in a lightning-fast theft that an insider has called “the largest bank heist in human history.”
“This was a complex attack, and we are doing all we can in coordination with law enforcement to resolve it,” Binance said in a post about the breach, which has shaken the cryptocurrency market.
The cryptocurrency exchange said Friday that deposits were unaffected and that it was working with companions to freeze some of the affected property, with about $3 billion positioned so far.
Binance froze over $2.3B after a attainable hacking. Getty Images
Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng speaks during an interview in Singapore on July 9, 2026. REUTERS
Withdrawals have been suspended for the next day or so. Binance did not point out the standing of the remaining $3.3 billion, but said it will cowl all losses.
TRM Labs, a US-based blockchain intelligence firm, pinned the attack on TraderTraitor, which it described as North Korea’s elite hacking unit.
“We make this judgment with high confidence,” the firm said, noting that “several features of this attack match earlier North Korea-linked heists.”
A glance at the funds that were reportedly stolen by hackers. Arkham Intelligence
“An attacker moved approximately USD 6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains, most of it in about 20 minutes,” TRM said.
That would make the hack the largest cryptocurrency theft on report — surpassing the huge $1.5 billion that was stolen when the Bybit exchange was focused last 12 months, also pinned on North Korea.
One industry insider described the newest hack to Sky News as “the largest bank heist in human history.”
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao arrives at federal court in Seattle on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, for sentencing after pleading guilty to a federal charge. Bloomberg via Getty Images
It is also “the biggest hack in history,” Aravind Srinivasan at market maker GSR said.
Blockchain evaluation company Chainalysis also believes the Binance hack was “likely done by DPRK group TraderTraitor,” its co-founder and CEO Jonathan Levin wrote on X.
When requested to remark about the breach’s potential ties to North Korea, a Binance spokesman only said it was working with law enforcement “to confirm the identity of the criminals and bring them to justice.”
Bitcoin crashed sharply following the information of a attainable hack. CoinMarketCap
Binance maintains a $1 billion bitcoin reserve asset fund for customers designed to defend buyer property in the occasion of security breaches, according to its web site.
Co-CEO Teng said that “and company funds” would cowl losses.
With Post Wires