Binance freezes assets after $6.3 bil. heist, crypto industry's biggest

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG — Hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, in what analysts say is the biggest crypto hack ever, an attack that could prompt investors to rethink the risks of owning digital assets. The hackers behind the raid were from North Korea, according to U.S. blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis. The attackers targeted Binance wallets on 10 blockchains and shifted most of the funds in about 20 minutes, TRM Labs said in a statement. Binance said it worked with partners to freeze the affected assets with about $3 billion located so far. It did not mention the status of the remaining $3.3 billion, and its co-founder Yi He said the exchange would cover "all hacking losses." Binance said its deposits were unaffected and it expects to resume withdrawal services in the next 48 hours. TRM said several features of the attack matched earlier heists linked to North Korea, including a 2025 hack of crypto exchange Bybit that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation had attributed to Pyongyang. "We make this judgment with high conf