It happened in minutes. Sometime on Thursday, $6.3 billion in bitcoin and other digital currency vanished from Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. By Saturday, the FBI was pointing a finger at North Korea.
If you follow crypto, you may already know this isn’t the first time this group has been accused of something like this. As we covered in our earlier breakdown of the Binance hack, this is already being called the biggest crypto theft in history.
- The FBI says North Korean hackers, known as TraderTraitor, carried out the $6.3 billion theft from Binance.
- The same group is blamed for a $1.5 billion hack on exchange Bybit last year.
- President Trump said investigators are not yet certain North Korea was behind it.
- Binance says it has enough funds set aside to cover 90% of the stolen assets and will fully reimburse customers.
How the FBI built its case
The FBI said in a statement that this week’s attack was tied to what it called “malicious cyber activity” by TraderTraitor. This is the name investigators use for the hacking group they believe is behind both this theft and last year’s Bybit hack.
The bureau has asked crypto exchanges and blockchain analytics firms to block transactions linked to specific digital wallet addresses. The goal is simple: stop the stolen money from being cleaned up and hidden before it can be traced.
Investigators found that the hackers were converting the stolen assets mainly into ethereum, a major cryptocurrency. The FBI believes TraderTraitor will next try to move the funds through DeFi (decentralised finance, meaning crypto platforms that run without a central company) and what are called “instant swap services” – tools that let people quickly exchange one cryptocurrency for another, often with few checks on who is using them.
Not everyone is convinced yet
Asked about the case by reporters on Saturday night, at a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, President Trump was cautious. “I’m not concerned. We’re learning about it,” he said. “We don’t know if it’s North Korea.”
He added that it could still turn out to be true. For now, the FBI’s statement and Trump’s comments sit side by side, with the bureau naming a suspect and the president saying it’s too early to be sure.
What happens to stolen crypto like this?
Ari Redbord, chief policy officer at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, said he expects the hackers to split the stolen funds into smaller pieces and move them through smaller exchanges to avoid being caught. He compared it to a bank robbery that happens at internet speed rather than in a physical branch.
Redbord also said investigators can track and trace the funds as they move, which gives them a chance to build a case, slow the hackers down, and even recover some of the money. He described the back-and-forth between hackers and investigators as an ongoing chase that could play out over months.
What Binance is doing about it
Binance confirmed on Saturday that it has enough of the same digital currency that was stolen set aside to cover 90% of the missing assets. The exchange promised that customers would be fully reimbursed for their losses.
That’s a significant promise given the scale of the theft. $6.3 billion is far larger than the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit last year, which was already one of the biggest hacks on record before this one.
What this means if you use crypto in Kuwait
Crypto trading has grown among residents in Kuwait, whether for savings, remittances, or simple curiosity. A hack this size on a platform as large as Binance is a reminder that even the biggest exchanges aren’t immune to attacks.
If you hold funds on Binance or any other exchange, it’s worth keeping an eye on official updates from the company rather than relying on rumours online. Binance has said it will cover customer losses, but these situations can take time to resolve fully. You can follow our international news coverage for updates as the investigation moves forward.
This case also shows why digital security matters for anyone sending or storing money online, something we touched on in our piece about transferring money through apps in Kuwait. The tools that make moving money fast and easy are the same tools hackers try to exploit.
Quick answers
Who is TraderTraitor?
TraderTraitor is the name US investigators use for a hacking group they say is linked to North Korea. The FBI blames the same group for last year’s $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit exchange.
Will Binance customers get their money back?
Binance says it has enough funds set aside to cover 90% of the stolen assets and has promised full reimbursement to affected customers.
Has North Korea been officially confirmed as responsible?
The FBI has named North Korea’s TraderTraitor group as linked to the hack, but President Trump said on Saturday that investigators are not yet certain it was North Korea.
Stories like this move fast, and the full picture usually takes weeks or months to come out. We’ll keep following this one. Have you ever had to deal with a security issue on a crypto exchange or app? Tell us about it in the comments.
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