FBI Identifies North Korea Behind Binance Hack - Thairath English
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has accused a hacker group linked to North Korea, called "TraderTraitor," of being behind the theft of digital assets worth over $6.3 billion from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency trading platform. This is believed to be the largest cryptocurrency theft in history. Binance has confirmed it will compensate all affected customers and has already replaced about 90 percent of the stolen assets.
The FBI announced that North Korea is behind the theft of digital assets valued at more than $6.3 billion, or about 200 billion baht, from the cryptocurrency trading platform Binance on 29 Oct. The incident is considered the largest cryptocurrency theft ever recorded.
The FBI stated that the hacker group linked to North Korea, known as "TraderTraitor," is responsible. This group was also accused of stealing digital assets worth $1.5 billion from the Bybit platform in February last year.
FBI investigations found that the hackers are converting the stolen digital assets into Ethereum and are likely laundering money through decentralized finance (DeFi) systems and instant cryptocurrency exchanges to hide the origin of the funds.
Therefore, the FBI has called on cryptocurrency trading platforms, blockchain data analytics firms, and related private sector entities to suspend transactions linked to the hackers' digital wallets to prevent laundering of the stolen assets.
However, President Donald Trump told reporters during a Halloween event at Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida that it is not yet confirmed whether North Korea was responsible, adding that officials are still investigating.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency platform by daily trading volume, stated that it has allocated over $6.34 billion of its own capital to cover losses from the cyberattack and reaffirmed it will fully compensate customers for lost assets.
The company said it has already used its funds to buy tokens to replace about 90 percent of the stolen assets. The remaining 10 percent are tokens with lower liquidity, which will take longer to acquire in full.
Previously, Binance temporarily suspended user asset withdrawals after the attack but now says operations are proceeding as planned, expecting to resume withdrawals on Sunday, 1 Nov.
The theft news severely affected the cryptocurrency market: Bitcoin's price dropped nearly 5 percent, Ethereum declined almost 6 percent, and Binance Coin (BNB), Binance's native token, fell nearly 10 percent last Friday.
Binance previously described the attack as a complex operation with multiple system breaches, while cybersecurity experts warned that rapidly advancing artificial intelligence might increase risks to encryption and IT security measures.
Ari Redbord, a cryptocurrency expert and Chief Policy Officer at TRM Labs, a blockchain data analytics company, expects the hackers to gradually split the stolen assets into smaller amounts and launder them through smaller exchanges to avoid detectionβa process that could take several months.
Redbord compared the incident to a bank robbery occurring at internet speed, but on the other hand, blockchain technology allows authorities to track asset movements in real-time for investigation, transaction blocking, and asset recovery.
TraderTraitor is believed to be connected to North Korea's Lazarus hacker group, notorious for allegedly attacking Sony Pictures' computer systems in 2014 to retaliate against the film "The Interview," which mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
This latest digital asset theft raises concerns about North Korea's ability to generate income through illicit channels amid strict international sanctions over its nuclear and missile development programs.
North Korea has long been accused of involvement in cyberattacks and digital asset thefts to fund government activities, although President Trump has stated there is no conclusive evidence confirming North Koreaβs responsibility in this case.
