North Korean Hackers Blamed For $6.3 Billion Binance Crypto Heist, Worlds Biggest Theft - ABP Live English
North Korean hackers allegedly stole $6.3 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Binance in what would be the largest crypto theft in history, according to blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs.
US-based blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs has attributed a record-breaking $6.3 billion theft from cryptocurrency exchange Binance to North Korean hackers. The attackers moved billions across multiple blockchain networks within minutes, according to the firm's blog post.
An attacker moved approximately $6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains, most of it in about 20 minutes.
If confirmed, this incident would surpass the previous record of $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit in February 2025. TRM attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, North Korea's elite hacking unit, with high confidence based on intelligence gathered both on and off the blockchain.
Employee Laptop Compromised
Binance's initial investigation suggests the security breach involved a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, which allowed the attacker to access a service container and initiate unauthorized withdrawals. The exchange found no evidence of wallet private key leaks.
Binance's initial investigation suggests that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.
The exchange has frozen approximately $3 billion following the incident and pledged to cover all losses through its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and company funds. Binance is cooperating with law enforcement agencies to identify the criminals.
Crypto Firms Freeze Billions
Several cryptocurrency companies intervened to restrict access to the stolen assets. Tether, Circle, Ripple, and World Liberty Financial froze about $2.67 billion in stablecoins, while Arbitrum's Security Council froze 8,426 ETH and 74.6 million ARB on its network.
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