North Korea denies $6.3bn Binance hack, calls FBI finding a political provocation
ITF Team1 min read
Kim Yo Jong rejects U.S. accusations, while Binance reports deposits now outpacing withdrawals after a massive crypto theft.
North Korea’s foreign ministry dismissed the U.S. claim that a state‑linked hacking group stole more than $6.3 billion from crypto exchange Binance, calling the FBI’s attribution a “grave political provocation.” Sister of leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong, said the allegation was a “sinister” attempt to tarnish the DPRK’s image and hinted that Washington itself might benefit from any recovered crypto.
Attribution and the alleged perpetrators
- The FBI, the Secret Service and blockchain‑analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis linked the theft to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking outfit also blamed for the $1.5 billion Bybit breach in February 2025.
- TraderTraitor is reportedly creating a new wallet roughly every 25 seconds, spreading the stolen funds across about 12,000 addresses.
- Only about $2.85 billion of the $6.43 billion taken has been frozen or seized so far.
Binance’s cash‑flow snapshot
- Net withdrawals since Sunday totalled $4.72 billion, a fraction of Binance’s roughly $157 billion asset pool.
- Late Monday, hourly deposits began to exceed withdrawals, signalling a rebound in user activity.
- The exchange restored withdrawals for dozens of tokens on Ethereum and Solana and offered zero‑knowledge proof that balances of its ten largest assets are fully backed.
What traders are watching
- Liquidity of the remaining stolen crypto, especially the $1 billion in ETH and $1.42 billion in BTC that have shown limited movement.
- Potential regulatory or law‑enforcement actions that could freeze additional wallets.
- Any further statements from the FBI or North Korean officials that could shift market sentiment on crypto‑related risk.
Related news
- Evening market overview, 3 November 2026
- Binance has spent half its SAFU bitcoin, about $580 million
- New jersey drops coinbase staking order ahead of crypto’s midterm test
- Morning market overview, November 3 2026
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This article is compiled from international market news for information only. It is not investment advice.