Binance's postmortem says the attackers spent months inside its systems, starting with a tampered package an engineer installed while setting up an AI coding tool. Later, fake recruiters tricked another engineer into running a malicious file disguised as a coding assignment, and the hackers used the compromised machines to gain deployment credentials and plant malware in the wallet infrastructure on October 29. They then accessed the wallet-signing service to move funds outside normal withdrawals, and exploited Ethereum's EIP-7702 to keep unauthorized transfers going after withdrawals were suspended. About $6.3 billion was affected, with $2.85 billion frozen or intercepted, and Binance said it would absorb the losses and had replenished 98% of affected token assets as of October 31. The FBI attributes the attack to North Korean hackers, which Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un, denied.
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BinancecryptocybersecurityNorth Korea
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Related tickers and likely impact
BNB/USDT
▼ Likely negativeBNB
Relevance: high
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Exchange tokens |
| Market cap | $92.9B |
| Close on 11/02/2026 | 699.25 |
| Change that session | -1.89% |
BTC/USDT
• NeutralBitcoin
Relevance: low
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Layer 1 |
| Market cap | $1.6T |
| Close on 11/02/2026 | 76,816.00 |
| Change that session | -1.96% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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North Korea has denied involvement in the Binance hack, with Kim Yo Jong calling U.S. accusations a “sinister” attempt to damage the country's image and criticizing the Trump administration's plan to use confiscated crypto as a strategic reserve. The FBI attributed the theft to TraderTraitor, the group it also blamed for the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025, with about $2.85 billion of the $6.43 billion stolen frozen or seized. The funds are being laundered across about 12,000 wallets, with a new wallet created roughly every 25 seconds. Binance said net withdrawals reached $4.72 billion since withdrawals resumed on Sunday, hourly deposits exceeded withdrawals by late Monday, and it has covered about 95% of stolen assets.
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North Korea has rejected U.S. allegations that it was behind the roughly $6.3 billion Binance hack, calling the accusation a “grave political provocation,” according to state media. Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un, criticized the FBI for attributing the attack to the North Korea-linked group TraderTraitor. Blockchain analysts Elliptic and Chainalysis say the hackers used roughly 12,000 wallets across 11 blockchains in the first four days, making more than 40,000 transactions, mostly routed through Tron before moving to Ethereum via cross-chain bridges. About $2.85 billion, or 44% of the $6.43 billion Elliptic says was stolen, has been frozen or seized, while about $3.24 billion remains in linked addresses. Binance said it has covered about 95% of the affected amount and is resuming withdrawals in phases.
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