FBI says North Korea stole $6.3  billion in Binance hack, Trump says ‘not concerned’ about it

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Saturday released a statement, blaming North Korea for the $6.3 billion Binance crypto hack. The statement came right after the crypto exchange fund noted that it is able to replace 90 per cent of the amount stolen from its platform.

Binance maintained that it was able to replace the funds taken in the record hack by using company money to buy new tokens. In a statment shared on X, it maintained that the remaining 10 per cent consists of tokens that are less liquid, meaning they may take longer to buy, it said in a statement posted on X.

“We’ve now replenished 90 per cent of the stolen assets, and we’re committed to covering the remaining 10 per cent. Our users will not bear the financial impact of this incident,” co-CEO Richard Teng said on X. It is pertinent to note that crypto prices fell on Friday, while Binance — the world’s biggest crypto exchange — sought to reassure customers that their funds were safe.

FBI accuses North Korea

The FBI on Saturday said that a North Korean state-sponsored unit known as TraderTraitor was responsible for the attack. It noted that law enforcement found that members of the North Korean unit were converting stolen assets into the cryptocurrency Ethereum. It maintained that the authorities are expecting “further laundering” of the assets through the use of related technology.

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“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is releasing information advising that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion USD in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026. The FBI refers to this specific North Korean malicious cyber activity as ‘TraderTraitor, ‘ the bureau said in a statement.

“The FBI, together with partners at the USSS and IRS-CI, has observed TraderTraitor actors converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum (ETH). It is expected these assets will then be further laundered by converting them using DeFi and instant swap services as they prepare them for further laundering stages,” it added.

Meanwhile, Teng said on Friday that the breach was a “complex attack” involving a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to delete evidence of its activity, making it harder to trace and investigate. After the hack, the exchange stopped allowing customers to withdraw their funds, but it said on Saturday that it was still on track to reopen withdrawals on Sunday.

How Trump reacted

Responding to the questions about the FBI’s recent revalation, US President Donald Trump attempted to downplay the situation. “We don’t know; we’re looking at that. The hack with Binance, we’re looking at that,” Trump said when a reporter asked about his take on the hack being attributed to the North Korean group.

When the reporter asked if the authorities will be able to recover the stolen assets, Trump replied: “Well, they say they’re going to get it back…” expressing scepticism about modern digital currency compared to traditional checks while noting that authorities claim to have the situation under control.

In a separate exchange with White House staff earlier that day, Trump also stated regarding potential attribution to North Korea: “We’re learning about it. We don’t know if it’s North Korea — but if it is, we’ll talk to North Korea about it.”

On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump remains open to talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if Pyongyang is willing to discuss issues of concern to Washington and its allies, but no meeting has been scheduled.

“I think the president’s perspective is, if North Korea and Kim Jong-un are prepared to talk with the United States about issues that are of concern to us and of concern to our allies, like South Korea, he would be open to doing it,” Rubio said. “Nothing has been scheduled. I do not have anything to announce in regard to that today,” he added.