From Bangladesh Bank To Binance: The North Korean Cybercrime Wave - Yahoo Finance

The theft occurred on October 29, 2026, easily eclipsing the previous record of $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit in 2025. While law enforcement managed to identify and freeze $3 billion during the money laundering process, billions more had already been sufficiently moved and converted into other cryptocurrencies, making recovery impossible.

Pattern of Attacks

The Binance hack is far from North Korea's first major cybercrime. Along with the Bybit theft, North Korean hackers stole $308 million from DMM Bitcoin in 2024 and $620 million from the Ronin Network in 2022. According to Chainalysis, North Korean hackers stole approximately $2 billion of cryptocurrencies in 2025, accounting for 60% of global cryptocurrency thefts that year.

Beyond Cryptocurrency

North Korea's cybercrimes extend beyond cryptocurrency exchanges. In a sophisticated operation, hackers stole $81 billion from Bangladesh Bank by exploiting the SWIFT network. A typographical error in wiring instructions uncovered the crime, preventing further transfers. Similar attacks included $12 million from Ecuador's Banco Del Austro in 2015 and $60 million from Taiwan's Far Eastern International Bank in 2017.

North Korean hackers were also behind the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack that infected 300,000 computers in 150 countries. Over the past six years, they have increasingly focused on cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms.