The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, suffered the biggest hack in history on Thursday, with hackers stealing over $6 billion in digital assets. As of Thursday night in the US, a coalition of cryptocurrency firms managed to freeze about $3 billion of the stolen funds in a race against time to recover the remaining loot.
Binance reported that the breach occurred through a hacked engineer’s laptop, which allowed attackers to access a service container and initiate unauthorized withdrawals. The exchange assured users that all losses would be covered from company funds and an emergency assets fund, emphasizing that user funds remained safe. Binance also suspended deposits and withdrawals temporarily while conducting security checks and collaborating with law enforcement and blockchain intelligence partners to trace and recover the stolen funds.
Multiple crypto-tracing firms, including TRM Labs, Pangolin Intelligence, and Chainalysis, attributed the heist to an elite North Korean hacking unit. Analysts from these firms cited robust on-chain and off-chain intelligence, as well as correlations with previous incidents, to support their conclusions. A Pangolin Intelligence analyst warned that North Korea was likely preparing to use a network of money laundering organizations to cash out the stolen funds, indicating that the battle to recover the assets was far from over.
If North Korea’s involvement is confirmed, it would align with past patterns. The regime has been accused of previous high-profile crypto hacks, including a $1.5 billion theft from Bybit, another major exchange. North Korean hackers are believed to be a critical revenue source for the sanctions-battered regime, with billions stolen from financial institutions and crypto firms in recent years.