The FBI accused North Korea of stealing more than US$6bil (RM24.3bil) in virtual assets from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance in what is thought to be the biggest-ever crypto heist.
The US law enforcement agency’s statement on Saturday came as Binance offered reassurances it was covering the losses from the hacking attack, saying it has used company funds to buy tokens to replenish 90% of what was stolen.
Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes. News of the cyberattack caused the prices of most major cryptocurrencies to fall sharply on Friday.
The FBI confirmed earlier suspicions from private investigators and analysts that a North Korea-affiliated group called TraderTraitor was behind the hack.
TraderTraitor is the same group blamed for a US$1.5bil theft from the Bybit platform in February last year.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation is releasing information advising the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was responsible for the theft of more than US$6bil in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about Oct 29,” the statement said.
The FBI added that it had observed “TraderTraitor actors” converting stolen assets into Ethereum, and expected those assets to be laundered further by converting them using decentralised finance and instant swap services.
It said it was urging private sector entities “to block transactions with or derived from addresses TraderTraitor actors are using to launder these stolen assets”.
US President Donald Trump, however, cast doubt on the North Korea’s involvement in the hack.
“I’m not concerned. We’re learning about it. We don’t know if it’s North Korea,” Trump said late on Saturday. — AFP
