by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News October 30, 2026
North Korean hackers are suspected in the theft of $6.3 billion from the Binance cryptocurrency exchange in what reportedly is the “largest bank heist in human history.”
The hackers pilfered the crypto out of Binance wallets in just 20 minutes starting at 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday, exploiting the system by hacking into an engineer’s laptop, according to analytics firm TRM Labs and industry insiders. Binance suspended withdrawals and vowed to cover all losses immediately after the attack.
TraderTraitor, the North Korean hacking group suspected of pulling off the heist, is known for unparalleled lootings by using algorithms to spread the riches across global crypto networks faster than any human could – making them virtually impossible to recover.
U.S. officials have said cybercrime attacks fund roughly half of North Korea’s missile program.
TRM Labs, the U.S.-based blockchain intelligence firm that pinned the attack on TraderTraitor, described the cybercriminal group as North Korea’s elite hacking unit.
“We make this judgment with high confidence,” the firm said, noting that “several features of this attack match earlier North Korea-linked heists.”
In an update Friday, Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the company’s security team has “uncovered additional points of breach,” suggesting it was a complex attack carried out by more than one person.
“The attacker also used a self-destruct mechanism … making it more difficult for us to trace and investigate,” Teng said, adding that Binance’s security team is still deep in the throes of the investigation.
Binance said Friday it has started to recover some of the stolen assets. About $2.8 billion was quickly frozen by stablecoin providers – but roughly $3 billion is likely gone forever, as it was unable to be frozen, according to analytics firms.
The crypto exchange added on Friday that it’s on track to allow customers to make withdrawals within two days and that it has set over $6 billion of company funds aside to cover customers’ losses.
Meanwhile, co-CEO Changpeng Zhao tried to stop Tesla and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk from adding to the chaos online, telling him that it’s a “bad time to troll.”
Musk posted several laughing- and grimacing-face emojis on X, his social-media platform, reacting to the news. Zhao responded by reminding Musk that Binance holds a stake in his businesses worth more than $1 billion.
“Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop,” Zhao wrote. “Our SPCX shares (from our $500m investment in your Twitter takeover) are worth more than a billion. Would appreciate if you show a little support. Thanks!”
