The Federal Bureau of Investigation has accused North Korea of a scheme dubbed the ‘biggest hack in history’ after $6.3billion was stolen from the cryptocurrency giant Binance, sending executives into an overnight panic.Â
An investigation led by the FBI, the United States Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation has uncovered malicious North Korean cyber activity called ‘TraderTraitor,’ an elite hacking group.Â
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes, said on Thursday that investigations had ‘uncovered additional points of breach,’ contrary to initial findings that suggested the hack involved a single compromised laptop. Â
The company later said the estimated total impact was ‘around $6.3 billion,’ making the hack one of the most significant security incidents on record.
The figure is four times the amount of the biggest-ever cyber-attack of its kind to date: $1.5billion taken in February last year from the Bybit platform. The 2025 Bybit heist was also attributed to TraderTraitor.
TraderTraitor is believed to be part of Lazarus Group, which gained notoriety in 2014 when it was accused of hacking into Sony Pictures as revenge for The Interview, a film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.Â
The hack played out in real time, as billions poured out of accounts on Thursday evening, sending crypto executives into a frenzy.Â
Insiders recalled the surreal breakdown of what happened in the wake of the attack to the New York Times, describing a frantic picture of executives around the world hopping on late-night conference calls, analysts staying up all night in a glitzy New York conference room, and founders feverishly posting on X.Â
The FBI has confirmed a historic hack on Binance was done by ‘TraderTraitor,’ which gained notoriety in 2014 when it was accused of hacking into Sony Pictures as revenge for The Interview, a film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong UnÂ
Donald Trump pardoned founder Changpeng Zhao after he pleaded guilty for charges related to his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform
Zhao, who is no longer the company’s CEO but founded Binance, posted a slew of updates on the hack onlineÂ
The company’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, posted a slew of updates to his X account amid the hack, telling his followers: ‘It hurts, but we will survive.’
Employees of the crypto analytics firm Chainalysis quickly flocked to a conference room called the ‘Silk Road’ in New York and worked all night to investigate the hack.Â
Chainalysis said the attackers have ‘laundering patterns we have not seen before,’ attributing the hack to TraderTraitor before the FBI confirmed the findings.Â
Chainalysis CEOÂ Jonathan Levin was on a video call with a senior US official discussing cyber attacks on enemies of the US when he received the news of the hack, he told The Times.Â
Meanwhile, Binance executives gathered for a massive conference call. He Yi, Binance’s co-chief executive, who is seven months pregnant, took the call at 3am where she is located in Abu Dhabi.Â
Zhao kept his followers updated throughout the ordeal, even chastising Elon Musk for posting a grimacing emoji on a post making fun of him, writing: ‘Bad time to troll. Please stop.’Â
Binance’s co-CEO Richard Teng said in a video message on Friday that the company was ‘working nonstop’ and was ‘committed to covering all hack losses,’ assuring traders that their ‘assets were safe.’Â
‘This was a complex attack,’ Teng said. He explained that the attacker used a self-destruct mechanism that made it difficult to trace.Â
Teng continued that the company would conduct a full security review in the wake of the attack.Â
The company said late Thursday the estimated total impact was at more than $6 billion
Binance co-founders Changpeng Zhao and Yi He, who started the company in July 2017
Zhao founded Binance in 2017 and pleaded guilty to a felony related to his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform and stepped down as CEO in 2023. President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2025.
Mr Zhao was released from prison in 2024 after being sentenced for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
He was the first person ever sentenced to prison time for violations of that law, which requires US financial institutions to know who their customers are, to monitor transactions and to file reports of suspicious activity.
Prosecutors said no one had ever violated the regulations to the extent Zhao did. Mr Zhao and Binance have been key supporters of some of the Trump family´s crypto enterprises.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment. Â
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