Binance covers $6bn of $6.3bn North Korea hack

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Saturday it has covered $6 billion, or over 90 per cent, of the record $6.3 billion stolen in a hack that the FBI blamed on North Korea.

The FBI attributed the attack to North Korean state-sponsored unit TraderTraitor, blamed for February 2025's $1.5 billion Bybit theft, urging providers to block suspected addresses as hackers launder assets through Ethereum.

Setting aside $6.34 billion internally, Binance bought replacement tokens using its corporate treasury, Futures Insurance Fund and half of its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users, which Co-CEO Yi He pledged to replenish.

Binance said sourcing the remaining less liquid tokens to reach 100 per cent may take longer, after locating about $3 billion on Friday. Co-CEO Richard Teng cited a compromised laptop and evidence-deleting malware.

Although withdrawals remained closed at 02:50 GMT today despite reopening plans, Binance took a 31 October proof-of-reserves snapshot for 10 tokens, including BTC, ETH and USDT, to verify 1:1 backing.

Sources: Reuters