North Korea Denies Role in $6.3 Billion Binance Hack as FBI Blames Lazarus Group
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Nov 3
North Korea Denies Role in $6.3 Billion Binance Hack as FBI Blames Lazarus Group
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Nov 3
Summary
Kim Yo-jong on Tuesday rejected U.S. claims that North Korea carried out the record $6.3 billion Binance hack, calling the allegations a political provocation and “absurd rhetoric.”
The FBI, Secret Service and blockchain analysts have attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, also known as the Lazarus Group, and urged industry partners to block cryptocurrency accounts linked to the hackers.
Binance said an engineer’s laptop was compromised, enabling unauthorized withdrawals; the exchange has resumed major-crypto trading after working with issuers to freeze affected assets.
More than $3.6 billion was withdrawn by customers after Binance reopened, though the company says it will cover all losses and has already covered about 95% of the stolen assets.
The accusation fits a broader pattern of cyberattacks tied to Pyongyang, including the then-record $1.5 billion Bybit hack in 2025, claims North Korea has repeatedly denied.
If North Korea didn't orchestrate the record-breaking Binance hack, what invisible cyber threat is actually emptying global crypto reserves?
How did hackers drain $6.3 billion from Binance without leaking private keys, and who controls the missing funds?
With billions still unfrozen, could the largest crypto heist in history secretly be funding a sanctioned nation's weapons program?
The $6.3 Billion Binance Heist: Anatomy, Attribution, and Aftermath of the Largest Crypto Exchange Hack in History
Overview
In October 2026, Binance suffered the largest crypto heist ever, as North Korean hackers used AI-powered deepfakes and spear-phishing to bypass security and compromise a DevOps engineer’s laptop. Gaining access to internal systems, they exploited Ethereum’s EIP-7702 standard to inject malicious authorizations, allowing automated sweeper contracts to drain over $6.3 billion in minutes. The attack’s speed outpaced Binance’s defenses, leaving billions in unfreezable assets. Industry-wide efforts froze some funds, while Binance’s $6.34 billion bailout stabilized markets. The breach forced exchanges to adopt advanced AI-driven security and reignited debates on regulation and safe asset custody for investors.