Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has successfully replaced 90% of the funds stolen during a record-breaking $6.3 billion hack of its platform. The company, which suspended user withdrawals immediately following the breach, confirmed on Sunday that service resumption is occurring in phases to ensure ongoing system stability. Co-CEO Richard Teng stated that the firm remains fully committed to covering the remaining 10% of the stolen tokens, noting that these assets are less liquid and will require more time to acquire. He emphasized that users will not bear the financial impact of the incident.
The announcement follows an official statement from the FBI on Saturday, which confirmed that the theft—which occurred on or about October 29, 2026—was carried out by a North Korea-affiliated group known as TraderTraitor. This group is believed to be part of the Lazarus Group, an entity notorious for the 2014 cyberattack on Sony Pictures. The FBI reported observing TraderTraitor actors converting the stolen virtual assets into Ethereum and warned that they expect the funds to be laundered further through decentralized finance and instant swap services. The agency has urged private sector entities to block transactions associated with the addresses used by these actors.
Regarding the nature of the breach, Teng explained on Friday that it was a complex operation involving a compromised laptop and malicious software specifically designed to delete evidence of the intrusion, which significantly hindered initial investigative efforts. To cover the losses, Binance utilized approximately $6.34 billion from its internal resources, including its Secure Asset Fund for Users—a bitcoin reserve maintained for such security events—alongside its Futures Insurance Fund and the company’s own corporate treasury.
The massive scale of the attack has intensified global scrutiny regarding North Korea’s capability to generate revenue through illicit means to support its nuclear and missile programs. Following the news of the hack, cryptocurrency markets experienced significant volatility, with Bitcoin falling nearly 5%, Ethereum dropping nearly 6%, and Binance’s native token, BNB, tumbling approximately 10%.
