By North Korea has denied responsibility for the $6.3 billion cryptocurrency theft from Binance, rejecting allegations by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation that a state-sponsored hacking group orchestrated the attack.
In a statement published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on November 3, 2026, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, described the accusations as “absurd rhetoric and nothing new.”
She accused Washington of attempting to portray North Korea as responsible for major cybercrimes worldwide. The statement followed the FBI’s October 31 announcement attributing the Binance breach to TraderTraitor, a hacking operation linked by US authorities to the North Korean government.
The attack, disclosed on October 29, involved more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency assets, potentially making it the largest digital asset theft recorded. Binance has said it is working with law enforcement and blockchain security companies to trace stolen funds while replenishing affected customer assets.
Kim Yo Jong Rejects FBI Attribution
Kim Yo Jong characterized the FBI’s allegations as a politically motivated attempt to damage North Korea’s international reputation. She argued that Washington was using the incident to reinforce accusations that Pyongyang operates state-sponsored cybercriminal organizations.
Kim described the allegations as a serious political provocation and said North Korea would reconsider unspecified matters in response to what it regarded as continued US hostility. Her statement comes amid uncertainty surrounding potential renewed diplomatic engagement between Washington and Pyongyang.
US President Donald Trump has expressed interest in resuming discussions with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, although North Korea has not publicly committed to renewed summit talks. The latest dispute adds another complication to relations between the two countries.
North Korea has consistently denied allegations that its government sponsors cryptocurrency thefts or uses cybercrime proceeds to finance weapons development. However, US authorities and independent cybersecurity researchers have repeatedly attributed major cryptocurrency attacks to North Korean-linked groups. The FBI identified TraderTraitor as responsible for the Binance incident and said investigators had observed stolen assets being converted into Ethereum.
Authorities expect the attackers to continue moving cryptocurrency through additional wallets and services in attempts to obscure its origins. The FBI’s attribution remains its official assessment, while North Korea disputes the allegation.
Binance Recovery Efforts Continue as Investigators Trace Funds
The diplomatic dispute follows several days of recovery activity after Binance reported unauthorized cryptocurrency withdrawals across multiple blockchain networks. The exchange initially estimated the incident’s impact at approximately $6.3 billion.
Stablecoin issuers and blockchain infrastructure providers subsequently assisted in freezing substantial portions of the affected assets. Binance also committed corporate resources and emergency reserves to replace stolen customer holdings.
The exchange began restoring withdrawals on November 1 after temporarily suspending services for security assessments. During the first nine and a half hours following the reopening, Binance reported approximately $4.65 billion in withdrawals and $1.01 billion in deposits, producing net outflows of $3.64 billion.
Those withdrawals represent customer activity rather than additional hacking losses. Blockchain analytics firms have continued tracking stolen assets as they move between wallets, decentralized exchanges and cross-chain protocols.
Elliptic estimated that North Korean-linked hackers had stolen approximately $7.6 billion in cryptocurrency during 2026, reflecting the scale of alleged state-sponsored activity across the industry. Such estimates depend on blockchain tracing and attribution methodologies and are separate from the FBI’s findings concerning Binance.
For investigators, the immediate challenge remains identifying the attackers, restricting further transfers and recovering stolen cryptocurrency. For Binance, restoring customer confidence and demonstrating sufficient asset backing remain central priorities.
North Korea’s denial introduces a diplomatic dimension to the investigation but does not alter the exchange’s financial obligations or establish an alternative explanation for the breach.
The competing claims are likely to remain under scrutiny as US authorities release additional evidence and blockchain investigators continue tracing the stolen assets.