The record-setting Binance theft now has an official suspect — and customers are getting their access back. In a follow-up to Thursday’s $6.3B hack, the FBI announced Saturday that North Korea’s state-sponsored unit “TraderTraitor” was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance on October 29, while the exchange began restoring withdrawals in phases on Sunday, November 1.
The FBI said law enforcement had observed TraderTraitor members converting stolen assets into ether and expects further laundering attempts through decentralized finance platforms and instant swap services. The bureau also published a blocklist of more than 600 Ethereum addresses, around 20 Bitcoin addresses and one Solana address tied to the operation. President Trump said Saturday the US was still not certain North Korea was involved.
Binance, meanwhile, moved fast on the money. The exchange said it has covered about 95% of the stolen funds — roughly $6 billion — by buying replacement tokens with corporate funds, emergency reserves and insurance funds, with some $6.34 billion set aside internally. About $3 billion of the affected assets had been frozen as of Friday. Withdrawals reopened in phases from around 0600 GMT Sunday, starting with the bitcoin network and 15 cryptoassets including ether, XRP, dogecoin, USDT, USDC, BNB and SOL.
The reopening was immediate and dramatic: roughly $2 billion in bitcoin, ether and stablecoins left the exchange within about three hours of withdrawals resuming, according to Whale Alert data cited by BeInCrypto — a measure of how many users had been waiting to move funds after the freeze.
The attribution and the phased reopening mark the two big new developments since the hack was first reported Thursday. The investigation continues, and laundering attempts are expected — but for Binance customers, the doors are opening again.
Read also: Read our original report on the record $6.3B Binance hack and Wall Street selloff: Nasdaq’s biggest one-day fall since June
Bhudev Bhagaliya is an experienced and senior journalist who has carved a distinct niche for himself in the world of Hindi journalism through his profound understanding and precise writing style. With over two decades of experience in the field of journalism, he has held key responsibilities at Dainik Hindustan for 12 years and at Amar Ujala for one year. Currently, he serves as the Content Editor for the Jagrook Youth News newspaper and portal, where he plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and credibility of the news content. Bhudev Bhagaliya consistently writes about issues that help raise awareness within society and among the younger generation.