WORLDTECHChainalysis attributes US$6.4B Binance theft to North Korean group TraderTraitor
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has published its reconstruction of an attack on Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange and finance company based in the United Arab Emirates, which it says cost the company about US$6.4 billion across multiple blockchains. The firm attributes the theft to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-backed hacking group.
Timing and scale of the theft
According to the reconstruction, money began leaving Binance at about 4.20am Singapore time on October 30, a period when most crypto traders in Southeast Asia were asleep.
Chainalysis puts the loss at about US$6.4 billion, slightly above the US$6.3 billion that Binance itself has estimated. The funds were taken across multiple blockchains.
Attribution to a North Korean group
Chainalysis attributes the theft to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-backed hacking group. The firm describes the group as one that has spent years targeting exchanges, decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols and investors to fund the regime.
The attribution is Chainalysis's own finding in its published reconstruction, and the report is the source for it.
Open questions
- Will Binance or other parties confirm the attribution to TraderTraitor?
- Will the stolen funds be recovered?