Binance loses $6.3 billion in 20-minute North Korean cyber heist

North Korean hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance on Thursday, the largest cyber theft in history.

The attack lasted 20 minutes, from 4:05 p.m. to 4:25 p.m. Eastern time. The intruders accessed investor trading accounts and moved digital assets before the exchange could fully lock down the system.

Ari Redbord, global head of policy at crypto research firm TRM Labs, called the event the largest bank robbery in human history. He compared the speed of the theft to moving money at the speed of the internet.

Experts attribute the hack to TraderTraitor, a sophisticated unit within the North Korean military. This group also stole $1.5 billion from crypto exchange Bybit last year. Redbord says North Korea uses these funds for weapons proliferation and other destabilizing activities.

Binance has frozen approximately $3 billion of the stolen cryptocurrencies. The exchange says it will pay back any customers who lost funds during the incident. It has not yet specified the mechanism for those reimbursements.

Crypto exchanges allow investors to buy and sell digital currencies and store those assets with the platform. This structure differs from traditional stock markets. Investors trade on the New York Stock Exchange but keep funds with audited, regulated brokers who carry insurance for cyber attacks.

Amanda Fischer, policy director and chief operating officer at Better Markets, notes that crypto exchanges operate under a weaker regulatory framework. She points out that brokers are audited and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, while many crypto firms lack those strict requirements.

Fischer warns that this gap creates perverse incentives. She cites the 2022 collapse of FTX, where the exchange used customer funds to cover its own losses before failing. Its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud.

Researchers say it is too early to determine if Binance had major security flaws. The incident shows the technical capability of North Korean state hackers. Critics argue the event exposes the structural risks of trusting exchanges with both trading and storage functions.

Binance is working with other exchanges and partners to track the remaining funds. The company is not bound by current regulations to pay back customers, but it has committed to doing so. Smaller exchanges may not have the capital to cover similar losses if they are hacked.