North Korea behind biggest ever crypto heist as £6bn stolen in just 20 minutes
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is investigating a potential security breach after founder Changpeng Zhao said the incident 'does look like a hack on Binance'
North Korea has been named as the source behind the biggest ever crypto currency heist, after a whopping $6.3bn was stolen. Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Thursday it ws probing reports of a potential security breach, as its founder acknowledged the incident "does look like a hack on Binance."
The firm revealed that cryptocurrency companies had frozen more than $2.5 billion in funds by Thursday evening. The full extent of the damage caused by the hackers is now thought to be around £6bn , and Binance had yet to explicitly confirm whether any funds had been stolen.
The company said its teams are "working around the clock" to resolve the issue. "Rest assured that user funds are completely safe," a Binance spokesperson said in a statement. "Our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information," the statement continued.
But in a wild update, TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence firm that surveils the industry, said an elite North Korean hacking unit called TraderTraitor was behind the heist. It also suggested the theft took place in just 20 minutes. Roughly two hours after its initial disclosure, Binance posted on its X account confirming the total verified amount of frozen funds stood at $2.
54 billion, which later rose by a considerable amount. "This figure may continue to increase as our teams work closely with law enforcement, issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets," the company wrote. Binance further revealed that all deposits and withdrawals have been temporarily halted while it carries out security checks, freezes assets and liaises with law enforcement.
Stablecoin providers Tether and Circle both confirmed they had frozen funds on Thursday in response to the incident. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, wrote on X that the company had frozen the equivalent of more than $800 million in currency associated with the incident "in coordination with law enforcement." Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said on X that the company froze the equivalent of more than $1.
5 billion in currency related to "a potential Binance exchange hack." The price of bitcoin plummeted 3.2% Thursday evening to below $79,000.
Binance was established in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao who in 2023 admitted guilt to a felony charge linked to his failure to stop money laundering on the platform and resigned as CEO. President Donald Trump granted him a pardon in 2025. Zhao posted on X on Thursday that "User funds are safe!"
but acknowledged the incident "does look like a hack on Binance." He stated that while he no longer runs Binance, "as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered." Zhao walked free from prison last year following his sentence for breaching the Bank Secrecy Act.
He became the first individual ever jailed for such violations of that law, which mandates U.S. financial institutions to verify customer identities, monitor transactions and submit reports of suspicious activity.
Prosecutors stated nobody had ever flouted the regulations to the degree Zhao did. Zhao and Binance have been major backers of some of the Trump family's crypto ventures.
