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FBI Says US Seized $1.2 Billion Worth of Cryptocurrency Stolen From Binance

Securityweek • November 13, 2026

The FBI said Thursday that it had seized more than $1.2 billion of cryptocurrency reported stolen last month from Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.

The theft of $6.3 billion from Binance is regarded as the biggest crypto heist in history, and the FBI has previously attributed it to a North Korean hacking group known as TraderTraitor . The U.S. government and private sector have so far combined to freeze more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds, and the Justice Department said Thursday that it has now obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of that total.

Typically in those situations, the U.S. government will file a claim of forfeiture with a judge, who will then determine who has a legitimate claim to the recovered funds.

[ Read : North Korea Launches Missiles Toward the Sea to Protest Binance Hack Claims ]

Also Thursday, the FBI blamed North Korea for a separate social engineering scheme that officials say resulted in the theft of $400 million worth of cryptocurrency over the last 18 months. That scheme, known as FaceStealer, involves a complicated chain of events combining the hijacking of popular messaging apps and the recording of deepfake videos.

U.S. officials have repeatedly accused North Korea of using cyber schemes to generate funds for its regime, including its illicit weapons program.

Related : Rigged Coding Assignment, Abused AI Tool Opened Path to $6 Billion Binance Heist

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Related : $6 Billion Binance Hack Bears Hallmarks of North Korea’s TraderTraitor

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This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

North Korean TraderTraitor Group Hacks Binance for $6.3 Billion On October 29, 2026, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a massive hack resulting in the theft of approximately $6.3 billion in crypto assets. The FBI attributed the attack to the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor, which reportedly gained access to Binance's internal systems eight weeks prior to the theft. The attackers used social engineering tactics, including fake job offers, to compromise employee devices and harvest credentials. The breach allowed them to manipulate wallet-signing services and execute unauthorized transactions across multiple blockchains. As of November 5, about $2.8 billion of the stolen funds had been frozen, but significant amounts remain in circulation. The incident has raised alarms about the security of cryptocurrency exchanges and the potential for further state-sponsored cyber operations. 75 sources 78

Extracted Entities

FBI Says US Seized $1.2 Billion Worth of Cryptocurrency Stolen From Binance

The full story

Extracted Entities

Attack Types (1)

Companies (1)

Countries (5)

Malware (1)

MITRE ATT&CK (1)