The FBI has attributed the theft of approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance to North Korea, and is asking companies across the crypto industry to help prevent the stolen funds from being laundered.
According to Cointelegraph, the US agency said in a Saturday news release that it calls the North Korean cyber activity linked to this case “TraderTraitor.” The FBI said it has most recently observed the stolen assets being converted mainly into Ether (ETH).
The agency warned that the funds could move into more advanced laundering stages through decentralized-finance platforms and instant swap services. These tools can allow digital assets to be exchanged or routed across different blockchain services, making it more difficult to trace or block the proceeds.
FBI asks crypto firms to block related transactions
The FBI appealed to private-sector companies that may be able to identify or stop transfers involving the stolen assets. Its request covers a broad group of digital-asset infrastructure and service providers, including:
- THORNode operators and RPC node operators;
- Instant exchanges and decentralized-finance services; and
- Blockchain analytics companies and other digital-asset service providers.
The agency asked these entities to block transactions from, or connected to, addresses that TraderTraitor actors are using to launder the funds. A complete list of the addresses was included in the FBI’s news release.
The request reflects the way crypto investigations can involve several layers of the industry rather than a single exchange. Blockchain transactions are recorded publicly, but funds can be moved through multiple services and converted between assets as the people controlling them attempt to obscure their origin.
North Korean crypto theft in context
The Binance theft follows a broader pattern of crypto thefts attributed to North Korea-linked groups. Cointelegraph previously reported that these groups were responsible for about 60% of the value lost in cryptocurrency hacks during 2025.
A CertiK report cited in the report estimated total crypto security losses at $3.4 billion across 656 incidents in 2025. More than $2 billion of that amount was attributed to North Korea-linked groups in 79 incidents, representing a 51% year-over-year increase in losses associated with those hackers.
CertiK also estimated that North Korea-linked actors stole about $6.75 billion in cryptocurrency across 263 documented incidents between 2016 and early 2026. Its analysis described crypto theft as an organized state revenue mechanism. The reported proceeds have been linked to financing for North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic-missile programs.
North Korea does not publish credible budget figures. Independent research organization MilitarySpend places the country’s possible annual defense spending as high as $6 billion using purchasing-power-adjusted estimates, while emphasizing that the figure is uncertain. The organization also said arms transfers to Russia may provide additional revenue, citing a South Korean intelligence estimate of up to $5 billion in munitions exported from 2022 through 2025.
Current market picture
Moneyiar market data at 12:33-12:34 p.m. local time on November 1, 2026, showed BNB at $711.8666370846, up 1.08% over 24 hours but down 3.64% over seven days. Monad (MON) was $0.0195049921, up 1.22% in 24 hours and down 7.36% over seven days.
ONEchain (ONE) stood at $0.1074521474, down 1.5% in 24 hours and up 6.87% over seven days. REAL (ASSET) was $0.1927395029, up 6.94% over 24 hours and 3.94% over seven days, based on Moneyiar data recorded at 10:39 p.m. local time on October 25, 2026.
