FBI Links Crypto Hack on Binance to North Korea... Stolen Bitcoin Worth Three Times Annual Exports - SBS 뉴스
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has officially linked the October 31 hacking of Binance to North Korea, identifying the state-sponsored group TraderTraitor as the perpetrator.
The FBI announced that 18,270 Bitcoins were stolen, a haul worth about 1.4 billion dollars, or roughly 1.8 trillion won. This amount is 2.3 times the Bitcoin holdings of the government of El Salvador.
The stolen assets are estimated at around 8.4 trillion won, or 6.3 billion dollars. This figure represents three times the scale of North Korea's merchandise exports last year.
The FBI identified the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor as the perpetrator. This organization is described as an elite group created about a decade ago under North Korea's intelligence agency with the goal of stealing virtual assets.
Money Laundering Efforts
North Korean hackers immediately exchanged the stolen cryptocurrency into assets that cannot be frozen. They escaped with about 2.4 billion dollars, or around 3 trillion won worth.
The FBI has detected signs of the hackers converting the stolen assets mainly into Ethereum. This move anticipates further money laundering of the funds.
North Korea will try to convert these assets from cryptocurrency to cash as quickly as possible to use them for securing weapons or purchasing supplies.
Binance Response
Binance stated that it has recovered or frozen about 3 billion dollars of the total stolen assets. The exchange is also injecting its own funds to cover customer losses.
U.S. Reaction
Regarding the FBI's announcement, U.S. President Trump stated, "If North Korea is behind this, we will discuss this issue with North Korea."
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