Binance is cooperating with the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and other law-enforcement agencies after hackers stole an estimated $6.4 billion from the cryptocurrency exchange, according to Reuters reporting cited by Decrypt.
The investigation has expanded beyond Binance itself as stablecoin issuers move to immobilize digital assets linked to the attack. Circle, the company behind USDC, froze approximately $823 million connected to the incident. Tether also blocked a substantial amount of USDT, with figures reported at more than $975.1 million in one account and more than $1.567 billion in a statement from CEO Paolo Ardoino.
U.S. agencies join international investigation
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Binance was cooperating with law-enforcement authorities around the world, including the FBI and Secret Service. The FBI said it was aware of the incident and was working with public and private-sector partners to assess its scope and coordinate investigative steps. The Secret Service has not publicly commented.
The Secret Service is best known for protecting the U.S. president, but it also investigates financial crimes, computer intrusions, unauthorized access to systems and offenses involving digital currencies. Its participation places the Binance incident within a broader framework of government investigations into crypto-related theft and laundering.
Binance has said it will cover customer losses with company funds and its Secure Asset Fund for Users, an emergency reserve intended to protect customers after a security breach. Chief Executive Richard Teng said the exchange had reserved more than $6.34 billion for the stolen assets. He also said approximately $3 billion had already been located or frozen with assistance from industry partners.
The exchange initially believed that attackers gained access through a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer. Binance later said it had identified additional points of breach, while finding no evidence that wallet private keys had been exposed. Withdrawals remain suspended as the exchange reviews its security infrastructure, with a targeted resumption by Sunday.
Circle and Tether freeze digital assets
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company had frozen more than $800 million in USDC associated with the Binance incident and was coordinating with law enforcement. USDC is a stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a value of $1.
Tether, issuer of the competing USDT token, separately froze funds connected to the suspected attack. A statement attributed to Ardoino said more than 1.567 billion USDT had been frozen. The source material also cites a figure of $975.1 million for Tether’s action, reflecting differing reported totals as the response developed.
Both companies can place specific blockchain addresses on a blacklist. Tokens held at those addresses can then be prevented from moving, giving issuers a distinctive role in crypto investigations. In conventional financial systems, institutions may freeze bank accounts under legal or compliance procedures. In the stablecoin market, issuers can similarly restrict transfers of their own tokens on a public blockchain.
Freezing assets does not itself identify the people behind a theft or guarantee that all missing funds will be recovered. It can, however, prevent some connected tokens from being transferred while investigators and blockchain-intelligence specialists trace the transactions.
North Korean group linked to attack
Blockchain-intelligence companies TRM Labs and Chainalysis have attributed the theft to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking group associated with the country’s cyber operations. The source material describes the stolen amount in this attribution as $6.3 billion, compared with the broader $6.4 billion estimate cited elsewhere in reports.
TraderTraitor has previously been linked to the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025, which the FBI also attributed to North Korean hackers. Binance has faced North Korea-related infiltration attempts before. In a 2025 interview with Decrypt, Binance Chief Security Officer Jimmy Su said operatives contacted employees on LinkedIn every day and sometimes used fake job interviews to deliver malware.
The case follows an earlier joint effort showing how crypto companies and law enforcement can work together. In April, Operation Atlantic, involving the Secret Service, the U.K. National Crime Agency, Binance, Coinbase and other firms, identified more than 20,000 victims of approval-phishing scams. The operation traced $45 million in stolen funds and froze $12 million.
Market picture
Moneyiar market data at 12:48 p.m. and 12:49 p.m. on November 1, 2026, showed BNB at $711.7068665596, up 0.93% over 24 hours but down 3.7% over seven days. OriginTrail (TRAC) was priced at $0.3539029832, rising 3.58% in 24 hours and falling 4.09% over seven days.
The supplied Moneyiar data also showed Billions Network (BILL) at $0.0139971939, down 0.59% over 24 hours and up 10.04% over seven days, based on data timestamped September 21, 2026. FUNToken (FUN) stood at $0.0089182414, up 1.62% over 24 hours and 0.08% over seven days, based on data timestamped October 25, 2026.
