FBI Links North Korea's TraderTraitor to $6.43 Billion Crypto Theft, Freezing $2.85 Billion
Updated
Updated · The Hacker News · Nov 1
FBI Links North Korea's TraderTraitor to $6.43 Billion Crypto Theft, Freezing $2.85 Billion
3 articles · Updated · The Hacker News · Nov 1
Summary
$2.85 billion of the $6.43 billion stolen has already been frozen on-chain, after the FBI formally tied the record theft to North Korea-aligned TraderTraitor and published wallet addresses tied to laundering.
The FBI said the hackers have been converting the assets mainly into Ethereum and are expected to push them through DeFi and instant-swap services to continue laundering.
Binance resumed phase-one withdrawals between 6 and 9 a.m. UTC after pausing them following the incident, while deposits remained open and security checks continued.
The haul surpassed the previous record $1.46 billion Bybit theft from 2025; Elliptic said the single attack nearly doubled the crypto stolen by North Korea-linked actors in recent years.
TraderTraitor, active since at least 2020, has used recruiter-themed social engineering, trojanized Terraform providers and cross-platform malware to target Web3, AI and cybersecurity workers.