North Korea has rejected allegations that it orchestrated the $6.3 billion Binance cryptocurrency hack, as US officials and cyber analysts continue to link the record-breaking attack to the state-backed TraderTraitor group.
North Korea has denied responsibility for the $6.3 billion (£4.7 billion) hack of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, dismissing allegations that it carried out the record-breaking cyber attack as “absurd rhetoric”.
Kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official and sister of leader Kim Jong Un, accused the US of attempting to damage Pyongyang’s reputation by linking it to cyber crimes around the world.
Kim said in a statement: “The US has made a trite provocation of linking it with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea again.”
She added: “It is a grave political provocation against the DPRK that the US misleads the international public opinion as if all the cyber crimes in different parts of the world are our deeds.”
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Secret Service and blockchain security researchers have all attributed the Binance attack to North Korea.
The FBI has linked the theft to TraderTraitor, also known as the Lazarus Group, and has urged cryptocurrency companies to block transactions involving accounts associated with the group.
The hacking unit was previously blamed for stealing $1.5 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit in 2025, which was then the largest crypto theft on record.
North Korea has repeatedly denied involvement in major cyber attacks, despite allegations that its state-backed hacking operations generate funds for its heavily sanctioned economy.
Research groups have said Pyongyang has developed sophisticated cyber capabilities by recruiting talented students and directing them towards hacking units overseen by the country’s intelligence services.
Kim said it remained the “consistent policy stand of the DPRK government to resolutely oppose all sorts of malicious acts in cyberspace”.
Binance did not respond to the BBC’s questions about North Korea’s alleged involvement.
The exchange has instead focused on the technical investigation and its efforts to protect customers following the attack.
A Binance spokesperson said a net $4.72 billion had been withdrawn since transactions resumed on Sunday (01.11.26), but described the outflow as a “relatively limited portion” of the company’s approximately $157 billion in total assets.
The spokesperson said: “Withdrawal levels are stabilising to what we would consider normal and expected on-chain activity.”
Binance said initial checks indicated that an engineer’s laptop had been compromised, allowing attackers to make unauthorised withdrawals.
The company has said it will cover all losses linked to the incident and has so far replaced around 95 per cent of the stolen assets.
North Korea denies responsibility for $6.3 billion Binance hack
