The FBI on Saturday blamed North Korean hackers "TraderTraitor" for stealing $6.3 billion from Binance on Thursday in the largest crypto heist in history.
The bureau, linking the group to last year's $1.5 billion Bybit hack, urged exchanges and analytics firms to block linked addresses to prevent laundering. Investigators found TraderTraitor is converting assets into ethereum and expects them to use DeFi and instant swap services.
However, US President Donald Trump, speaking at a Florida Halloween party, suggested investigators remain uncertain about North Korea's involvement.
Ari Redbord, chief policy officer at TRM Labs, termed the heist a "bank robbery at the speed of the Internet" and a "cat and mouse game," warning hackers will split assets to launder over months via smaller exchanges, though real-time tracking can disrupt and recover funds.
Binance promised full customer reimbursement, stating reserves cover 90% of missing assets.