North Korea denies involvement in $6.3 billion Binance hack

North Korea has rejected accusations from the FBI that its hackers stole more than $6 billion from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed the claims as "absurd rhetoric and nothing new," according to state media agency KCNA.

The Allegations and Attribution

The FBI attributed the theft to a state-tied hacking group known as TraderTraitor. According to the FBI, the attack occurred on October 29 and involved the theft of more than $6 billion in digital assets. The bureau stated that the attackers were converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum and expected them to use decentralized finance platforms and instant cryptocurrency swapping services to launder the funds.

Several blockchain intelligence firms have linked the activity to North Korea:

• TRM Labs attributed the attack to the TraderTraitor group with "high confidence."
• Chainalysis stated that North Korea-linked actors had begun a new phase of laundering after moving more than $500 million through intermediary wallets on Tron.
• Elliptic estimated the total theft at $6.43 billion and reported that North Korea has stolen cryptocurrency worth $7.6 billion this year.

Kim Yo Jong accused the United States of attempting to "brand the DPRK as a 'cyber criminal state'" and described the investigation as a "sinister attempt" to damage the country's international reputation. She also suggested that the identity of whoever eventually receives the recovered funds might provide a clue as to who is behind the incident.

Tracing the Stolen Funds

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported that the laundering operation involved approximately 12,000 wallets and more than 40,000 transactions across 11 blockchains during the first four days following the attack. The activity was described as highly complex and automated, with an average of one new wallet used every 25 seconds.

According to Elliptic:

• Much of the activity initially took place on the Tron blockchain, where funds were distributed across about 7,700 addresses.
• Approximately $786 million in stablecoins was converted before issuers, including Tether and Circle, could freeze the remaining assets.
• About $2.85 billion, or 44% of the estimated $6.43 billion, has been frozen or seized.
• Roughly $3.24 billion remains in addresses linked to the theft, primarily in bitcoin and ether.

Binance Response and Recovery

Binance announced it has replaced approximately 95% of the affected assets using the company's own funds. The exchange stated that the remaining 5% consists of less liquid tokens that take longer to source and that it is working with industry partners to acquire them.

Following a temporary suspension of services, Binance began a phased restoration of withdrawals. On November 3, the exchange planned to restart withdrawals for additional assets across several blockchains, including Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Sui. Selected tokens on Arbitrum, Optimism, Tron, and Base are also part of the rollout.

Why it matters

Analysts in Seoul suggested that North Korea's rapid denial may reflect concerns that the U.S. could increase efforts to disrupt revenue streams used to fund weapons development. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, noted that cryptocurrency theft has become a key channel for the regime to secure funds for maintenance and weapons development despite existing sanctions.

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Sources

• dw.com: North Korea denies $6 billion Binance hack claim
• cnbc.com: North Korea denies links to Binance hack as stolen billions are traced
• independent.co.uk: Binance hack: North Korea denies involvement in $6.3bn crypto heist and calls FBI accusation a ‘grave political provocation’ | The Independent
• asahi.com: North Korea denies role in huge Binance crypto theft | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
• tradingview.com: North Korea denies role in $6.3B Binance hack, points finger at US — TradingView News
• crypto.news: North Korea denies role in $6.3B Binance hack, calls FBI claims political

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.