US Moves to Recover Crypto Stolen from Binance

The FBI said on November 12 that the United States had seized more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency taken from Binance in a theft of about $6.3 billion. The bureau has attributed the heist to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking group. The theft was described as the largest cryptocurrency heist in history.

The Justice Department said it had obtained a judge’s approval to take control of or freeze over $1.2 billion in stolen funds. The U.S. government and private-sector partners have together frozen more than $2.7 billion. In such cases, the government typically seeks forfeiture through a court, where a judge determines who has a legitimate claim to recovered assets.

The Justice Department’s broader effort aims to recover the Binance funds and disrupt other North Korean cryptocurrency theft operations. Officials say the activity helps fund North Korea’s regime, including its illicit weapons program.

The FBI also blamed North Korea for FaceStealer, a separate scheme that officials say stole $400 million in cryptocurrency over the past 18 months. The operation allegedly combined hijacked popular messaging apps with recorded deepfake videos to target cryptocurrency holders and software developers.