The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has linked a massive cryptocurrency theft worth approximately $6.3 billion from Binance to North Korea, making it potentially the largest crypto heist in history. The incident, reported in late October 2026, prompted the exchange to temporarily restrict withdrawals across several blockchain networks.
In a cyber advisory issued on October 31, the FBI identified the operation as ‘TraderTraitor’ and said the attack occurred around October 29. Investigators found that the stolen digital assets were being converted primarily into Ethereum, raising concerns that the funds could be transferred through decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms and instant-swap services to hide their origins.
The FBI, alongside the US Secret Service and the IRS Criminal Investigation division, has urged cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain operators and other virtual asset service providers to block transactions involving identified wallet addresses. Authorities have also released a list of addresses associated with the stolen funds.
Following the breach, Binance resumed withdrawals in phases from November 1, according to its announcement on X. The exchange also said it had used its own reserves to replenish approximately 90% of the stolen cryptocurrency holdings in affected users’ wallets, adding that customers would not bear the financial losses.
The scale of the reported theft surpasses the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in 2025 and the $625 million Ronin Network breach in 2022.
Binance, which has more than 300 million registered users globally, has not disclosed the exact number of affected accounts. The impact on its estimated Indian user base also remains unclear. Binance US was reported to be unaffected by the incident.
