FBI Confirms North Korea Behind Binance Hack as Lazarus Thefts Reach $11.87 Billion

The FBI attributed the more than $6 billion Binance theft to North Korea-linked TraderTraitor.
Analyst Darkfost estimated cumulative Lazarus Group thefts at $11.87 billion, equal to 45% of North Korea's GDP and 35% of its GNI.
The stolen Binance assets were converted mainly into Ethereum, prompting laundering warnings and concerns about similar attacks on South Korean exchanges.

The FBI officially identified North Korea as responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in digital assets from Binance, with the incident described as a $6.3 billion hack in the older record. The agency said the North Korea-linked TraderTraitor group disabled Binance's security systems within 20 minutes, stole electronic transaction signatures used on the blockchain and converted the assets mainly into Ethereum. Analyst Darkfost separately estimated that Lazarus Group had cumulatively stolen $11.87 billion, equal to 45% of North Korea's GDP and 35% of its gross national income based on 2025 Bank of Korea data, with the Binance attack representing the group's most profitable operation to date. U.S. agencies urged crypto firms and blockchain operators to block transactions linked to the expected laundering through decentralized finance platforms and instant-exchange services, while South Korean experts warned that local exchanges could face similar attacks.

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