Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly suffered a record-breaking hack after attackers stole about $6.3 billion in what is being described as the biggest crypto theft in history.
The company confirmed the breach, which has affected the cryptocurrency market, and said it was working with law enforcement to address the situation.
“This was a complex attack, and we are doing all we can in coordination with law enforcement to resolve it,” Binance said in a post.
On Friday, the exchange disclosed that customer deposits were not affected. It also said it was working with partners to freeze some of the stolen funds, with about $3 billion already located.
However, withdrawals have been suspended for the next 24 hours. Binance did not explain what happened to the remaining $3.3 billion but promised to cover all losses.
US-based blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs blamed North Korea’s elite hacking group, TraderTraitor, for the attack.
“We make this judgment with high confidence,” the firm said, adding that “several features of this attack match earlier North Korea-linked heists.”
TRM said about $6.36 billion was moved from Binance wallets across 10 blockchains, with most of the transfers completed within 20 minutes.
The theft surpasses last year’s $1.5 billion Bybit exchange hack, which was also linked to North Korea.
An industry insider described the latest incident to Sky News as “the largest bank heist in human history.”
Aravind Srinivasan of market maker GSR also called it “the biggest hack in history,” while Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin said the attack was “likely done by DPRK group TraderTraitor” in a post on X.
