The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has blamed North Korea for the massive $6.3 billion cryptocurrency theft from Binance. The bureau issued its statement on Saturday, shortly after the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange announced that it had restored 90 per cent of the stolen funds. Binance said it used its own corporate funds to purchase replacement tokens and cover most of the losses caused by the record-breaking cyberattack. However, the exchange warned that recovering the remaining 10 per cent could take longer because the stolen tokens are less liquid and harder to purchase. In a statement shared on X, Binance co-CEO Richard Teng assured users that they would not face any financial losses because of the incident. "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," Teng said. The announcement came as cryptocurrency prices declined on Friday. Binance also moved to reassure customers that their funds remained safe despite the security breach.

FBI Identifies North Korean Hacker Group Behind Binance Attack

The FBI announced on Saturday that a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group called TraderTraitor carried out the attack on Binance. According to the bureau, investigators discovered that the hackers were converting the stolen cryptocurrency into Ethereum. US authorities also expect the group to use decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms and instant cryptocurrency swap services to move the stolen assets and make them harder to trace. "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 described the security breach as a "complex attack" on Friday. He said the hackers gained access through a compromised laptop and deployed malicious software designed to erase evidence of their activities. This made it more difficult for investigators to track the attack and identify the people responsible. Following the incident, Binance temporarily suspended customer withdrawals as a precaution. However, the exchange said on Saturday that it remained on schedule to restore withdrawal services on Sunday.

Donald Trump Responds to FBI's North Korea Allegation

US President Donald Trump responded cautiously when reporters asked about the FBI's findings linking North Korea to the Binance hack. "We don't know; we're looking at that. The hack with Binance, we're looking at that," Trump said when asked about the alleged involvement of the North Korean hacking group. A reporter also questioned whether US authorities could recover the stolen cryptocurrency. Trump responded: "Well, they say they're going to get it back..." His remarks reflected uncertainty about the recovery process. He also expressed doubts about digital currencies compared with traditional payment methods, while referring to assurances that authorities were handling the situation. Earlier on Saturday, Trump also addressed the possibility of North Korea's involvement during a separate interaction with White House staff. "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," he said.

Marco Rubio Says Trump Open to Talks With Kim Jong-un

Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Trump remained open to holding talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Rubio said the US President would consider meeting Kim if North Korea agreed to discuss issues that concern Washington and its regional allies, particularly South Korea. However, the US administration has not arranged any meeting between the two leaders so far. "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.