Key facts
- Hackers stole a record $6.3 billion from Binance.
- Binance is working with the FBI and US Secret Service.
- About $3 billion of the stolen assets have been frozen.
- North Korea is strongly suspected of being behind the hack.
- Binance stated user funds are safe and it will cover all losses.
Hackers stole a record $6.3 billion from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, in an incident that analysts suspect was carried out by North Korea. The bulk of the stolen assets, approximately $3 billion, were quickly frozen by stablecoin issuers including Tether and Circle. Binance has stated that user funds are safe and that it will cover all losses, with withdrawal services expected to resume within 48 hours. The breach, which occurred rapidly, bore similarities to a previous large attack attributed to North Korea by the FBI. An initial investigation suggests a compromised engineer's laptop may have been the entry point for the attack.