North Korea‑linked hackers steal roughly $6.3 billion from Binance in record crypto heist
State‑backed hackers attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group stole 18,270 Bitcoin and other digital assets from Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, in about twenty minutes on 29 Oct 2026. The total value of the theft is reported as $6.3 billion (≈$6.36 billion) across ten blockchains. The FBI identified the group TraderTraitor as responsible, while blockchain‑intelligence firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis independently linked the attack to the same unit. Binance says it has frozen or recovered roughly $3 billion of the stolen assets and will resume withdrawals within 45 hours, pledging to cover all customer losses.
Why it matters
The breach creates immediate credit risk for Binance customers as the exchange will use its own funds beyond its $1 billion emergency reserve to cover losses. The incident also triggered short‑term price drops in Bitcoin and Ether and highlights systemic vulnerabilities of centralized exchanges, which may affect investor confidence in the broader crypto market.
Key facts
- 1Hackers stole 18,270 Bitcoin, worth about $1.4 billion at $78,500 per coin. koreajoongangdaily.com
- 2The total value of the stolen crypto is estimated at $6.3 billion and $6.36 billion. weekendpost.co.bw
- 3The FBI formally identified the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor as responsible. koreajoongangdaily.com
- 4TRM Labs and Chainalysis attributed the attack with high confidence to TraderTraitor, linked to Lazarus Group. weekendpost.co.bw
- 5Binance has recovered or frozen about $3 billion of the stolen assets. koreajoongangdaily.com
- 6Binance expects to resume withdrawals within 45 hours and will cover all customer losses. weekendpost.co.bw
Open questions
- Total stolen value differs between $6.3 billion and $6.36 billion on the same basis.
Summary written by AlphAI AI Desk from 2 of 2 sources. Not investment advice. Figures are as stated by the linked sources.