Hackers have stolen 6.3 billion dollars from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in what analysts believe may be the biggest financial theft in history. Blockchain researchers have blamed North Korea’s elite hacking unit.
The theft unfolded in about 20 minutes late on Thursday. According to the US blockchain firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis, hackers manipulated Binance’s transaction-approval system and moved funds from an internet-connected company wallet into accounts they controlled.
Binance halted withdrawals after discovering the breach and said it would cover the losses with company funds. The exchange insisted that customer money was safe. “We NEVER use any customer funds, so they are not impacted,” co-chief executive Richard Teng wrote on X.
Binance said it had set aside about 6.34 billion dollars internally to absorb the loss. It said it had located around 3 billion dollars of the stolen assets and was working with partners to freeze them.
Teng described the intrusion as a complex attack involving a compromised laptop and malicious software that erased evidence as it moved through Binance systems. He said the attackers bypassed normal approval controls, making the theft difficult to trace.
The news shook cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin fell to a six week low of 76,368 dollars, while ether dropped more than 3 percent to 2,178 dollars, its lowest level in two months, before prices stabilised.
TRM Labs said it attributed the attack to North Korea’s state-linked hacking unit with high confidence. Chainalysis reached the same conclusion. British blockchain analyst Elliptic called it “almost certainly the single largest known theft of any kind.”
North Korea has long been accused by US and South Korean authorities of using cyber operations to steal money and fund its government. Pyongyang routinely denies the allegations. Its diplomatic missions in Geneva and China did not respond to requests for comment.
Binance is cooperating with the FBI and the US Secret Service. The FBI and Abu Dhabi’s financial regulator are monitoring the case.
The heist adds to a wave of crypto crime. Researchers recorded nearly 150 attacks last year, with losses of 2.9 billion dollars.
