The FBI has accused North Korean hackers of orchestrating the largest cryptocurrency heist in history, stealing nearly $6.3 billion from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange. The bureau linked the attack to an entity called TraderTraitor, the same group responsible for a $1.5 billion hack of Bybit last year. The FBI urged crypto exchanges and blockchain analytics firms to block transactions tied to the stolen funds to prevent money laundering.
The stolen assets are primarily being converted into ethereum, according to the FBI's investigation. Experts anticipate that the hackers will attempt to launder the funds through smaller exchanges and DeFi services over an extended period. Ari Redbord, chief policy officer at TRM Labs, compared the heist to a bank robbery but noted that the stolen funds can be tracked in real time to aid investigations and potential recovery.
Binance assured customers that it has enough reserves to cover 90% of the stolen assets and promised full reimbursement. The theft occurred on Thursday, with crypto experts quickly pointing to North Korean hackers as the likely culprits due to the attack's characteristics.