Binance loses $6.3 billion in crypto theft; North Korean hackers suspected

WASHINGTON: Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has confirmed that hackers stole about $6.3 billion from its wallets. It is believed to be the biggest theft in crypto history. The company temporarily suspended withdrawals on several networks and said customer funds are safe.

According to the blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, on the evening of 29 October 2026 the attacker moved about $6.36 billion out of Binance wallets across ten blockchains. Most of the money was taken out in about 20 minutes. The previous biggest theft was $1.5 billion from Bybit in February 2025.

TRM has attributed the attack, with high confidence, to the North Korean hacking unit TraderTraitor. North Korea routinely denies involvement in hacking. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the investigation had not so far named any individual or group as responsible.

Binance said assets worth about $3 billion have been frozen. These include more than $2.3 billion frozen by issuers of stablecoins such as Tether and Circle. The company did not say anything about the rest of the money. It warned that the value of the theft could rise.

The company initially said the breach may have started with a hacked laptop belonging to an engineer. Further breaches came to light later. Binance says it has found no evidence that the private key of any wallet was exposed. The company has announced that it will cover the entire loss itself.

After the incident, Bitcoin fell to a six-week low of $76,368 and Ether to a two-month low of $2,178. The market recovered somewhat after the initial shock.