Binance Suffers Record $6.3 Billion Crypto Heist Linked to North Korean Hackers

In what experts are calling the largest cryptocurrency theft in history, hackers drained approximately $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, late on October 29, 2026. The attack unfolded with remarkable speed, with the majority of the funds moved in roughly 20 minutes across multiple blockchains including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Tron, Solana, and others.

Binance initially suspended deposits and withdrawals while investigating. Co-CEO Richard Teng stated that an early probe pointed to a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop granting access to a service container used for withdrawals. Subsequent investigation revealed a more complex operation involving additional breach points. The company emphasized there was no evidence of private key leaks and that the attack involved sophisticated methods, including potential use of advanced Ethereum features.

Blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs, Chainalysis, and Elliptic have attributed the heist with high confidence to North Korea’s TraderTraitor unit (linked to the Lazarus Group). The scale and techniques closely resemble the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in 2025, also blamed on North Korean actors. If confirmed, this single theft would nearly double the total crypto stolen by the regime to date.

Binance moved quickly to mitigate damage. Roughly $3 billion (primarily stablecoins) has been frozen through cooperation with issuers such as Tether (nearly $1.57 billion) and Circle (over $800 million), along with other partners. The remaining roughly $3.3 billion—mostly in Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP—cannot be frozen as easily and remains under the attackers’ control.

The exchange has pledged to cover all user losses in full. It has reserved more than $6.34 billion in company funds, including $5 billion already held in the exact assets affected, supplemented by its Secure Asset Fund for Users. Officials confirmed that user funds remain safe and that withdrawals are expected to resume once security is fully restored, with a target as early as the following Sunday.

Crypto markets reacted immediately, with Bitcoin falling around 5% to below $77,000 in the aftermath. The incident has intensified scrutiny of exchange security practices, particularly internal access controls for hot wallets and DevOps systems.

U.S. authorities, including the Secret Service, are assisting in efforts to trace, freeze, and recover the stolen assets. As investigations continue, the $6.3 billion Binance heist stands as a stark reminder of the persistent threats facing even the largest players in the cryptocurrency industry.

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