Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, has publicly questioned the legitimacy of Binance’s recent $6.3 billion hack, suggesting it might be a cover for financial transfers between China and North Korea. Gerber took to X, stating, "This feels like a front for sending N Korea money from China. I don’t believe this ‘hack’ story at all." He also criticized Binance founder Changpeng Zhao’s presidential pardon, implying potential misconduct without providing evidence.
The FBI has attributed the October 29 attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group, confirming the theft of over $6 billion in digital assets. Independent blockchain investigators TRM Labs and Chainalysis supported this conclusion. Reuters reported that hackers compromised three Binance engineers’ computers through malicious downloads and a fake job interview, exploiting stolen credentials to transfer 233.46 million XRP within four minutes before stealing other cryptocurrencies.
Zhao defended Binance’s response, acknowledging that "There’s no 100% security" but assuring that customer losses would be covered. The exchange replaced approximately 95% of affected assets using corporate reserves and insurance funds. Co-CEO Richard Teng reassured customers about Binance’s financial stability, while North Korea denied involvement.
Gerber also questioned Trump’s October 2025 pardon of Zhao, who had served four months in prison for violating U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements. However, Gerber offered no evidence connecting the pardon to the subsequent Binance hack.