the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has accused North Korea of being responsible for the theft of more than $6bn in cryptocurrency from Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
In a statement issued on Saturday, 31 October, the FBI said North Korean hackers carried out the cyber operation under the name “TraderTraitor”.
The statement said the FBI, working with the US Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division, had observed the attackers converting much of the stolen funds into Ethereum, a major cryptocurrency.
The FBI warned that the hackers could use decentralised finance platforms and instant cryptocurrency exchange services to conceal the origins of the stolen assets.
It urged cryptocurrency companies and other industry participants to block transactions linked to digital addresses identified in connection with the attack.
Binance has said it covered about 90% of the $6.3bn loss and pledged to ensure that its users would not suffer financial losses.
The incident is among the largest cryptocurrency thefts reported to date.
