The US Secret Service is collaborating with stablecoin issuer Circle to recover funds stolen in the massive $6.3 billion security breach at Binance. The effort involves the FBI and other cryptocurrency industry firms, with the Secret Service confirming its cooperation on October 30, a day after the breach. Circle has frozen over $800 million in USDC linked to the incident, while Tether has frozen nearly $1.57 billion in USDT, bringing the total frozen assets to more than $2.37 billion.
The FBI has acknowledged the incident and is working with both public and private partners to assess its impact and coordinate investigative steps. Binance has reported that industry partners have frozen around $3 billion in total assets related to the breach. While the stablecoin issuers can freeze their tokens at specific blockchain addresses, the frozen assets have not necessarily been recovered or returned to affected users.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, described as North Korea’s elite hacking unit, with high confidence. TRM Labs is tracking the funds and alerting industry partners through its Beacon Network. Meanwhile, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has cited the Binance breach as support for a proposed voluntary registration framework for offshore cryptocurrency exchanges serving US retail traders.
The CFTC’s plan would require participating platforms to meet US cybersecurity and customer protection standards. Selig noted that broader federal registration would require congressional action, with the CFTC targeting December 14, 2026, for the proposed rulemaking.