North Korea on Nov. 3, 2026, rejected U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation allegations that it was involved in a hack of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange that resulted in the theft of assets worth more than $6 billion. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, called the FBI’s findings a “serious political provocation,” as the incident became the largest known hack in the cryptocurrency industry.

Kim’s statement was distributed by the Korean Central News Agency, according to Yonhap. She accused Washington of trying to shape negative international sentiment toward Pyongyang and portray the country as a source of cybercrime.

Kim said the FBI was trying to cement North Korea’s reputation as a “state of cybercriminals” by citing alleged support from North Korean authorities for the hacking group blamed for the attack. She said the United States was baselessly linking Pyongyang to cyberattacks in countries around the world.

“This is a serious political provocation against the DPRK. The United States is misleading the international public by creating the impression that all cybercrimes in different parts of the world are committed by us,” Kim Yo Jong said.

She described the allegations as an attempt to damage North Korea’s international image, dignity and national prestige. She also pointed to the U.S. policy of confiscating illegally obtained crypto assets and suggested that identifying the ultimate recipient of returned funds could help determine who was behind the attack.

Kim provided no evidence of U.S. involvement in the incident. She said Pyongyang was closely monitoring Washington’s actions and may reconsider certain aspects of relations with the United States because of its “hostile stance.”

The FBI said on Oct. 31, 2026, that North Korea was involved in the theft of more than $6 billion from Binance. The agency linked the attack to TraderTraitor, which U.S. law enforcement classifies as part of North Korean hacking structures.

According to the FBI, the perpetrators began converting the stolen assets primarily into Ethereum. The agency said they may later use decentralized finance protocols and rapid cryptocurrency swap services to conceal the funds’ origin.

The U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division are also involved in the investigation. U.S. agencies urged cryptocurrency platforms, blockchain infrastructure operators and analytics firms to block transactions associated with the attackers’ addresses.

Binance hack

Binance was hit by a large-scale cyberattack on Oct. 29, 2026, resulting in the theft of about $6.36 billion in crypto assets. The incident was the largest known hack in the history of the cryptocurrency industry.

The attackers withdrew funds from the exchange’s wallets across 10 blockchains. Ethereum accounted for the largest losses, at about $3.79 billion, while approximately $1.47 billion was stolen on the Bitcoin network and roughly $628 million on Tron.

Blockchain security firm Blockaid disclosed technical details of one operation. According to the company, an attacker used the EIP-7702 mechanism and pre-prepared authorizations to gain control of Binance 14’s hot wallet, allowing the withdrawal of about $2.5 billion in assets in a single transaction.

After the attack, Binance set aside more than $6.34 billion of its own funds to cover user losses. With assistance from partners, the exchange froze about $3 billion in assets linked to the incident.

The attackers continued moving stolen funds despite those measures. SomaXBT, an onchain analyst affiliated with the Security Alliance initiative, said the hackers laundered about $242 million over two days through the Tron network and cross-chain services.

The investigation remains underway. U.S. law enforcement attributes the attack to North Korean hackers, while North Korean authorities reject the allegations.

Source: Incrypted