← Latest briefing

Technology

FBI reports $1.2 billion in stolen Binance crypto seized or restrained

The FBI says the funds are tied to a $6.3 billion Binance theft it previously attributed to North Korean group TraderTraitor.

The short version

  • The FBI said Thursday that the U.S. had seized or restrained more than $1.2 billion of crypto reported stolen from Binance last month.[ABC News · CBS News]
  • Court authorization now lets the Justice Department pursue seizures, and governments and private firms have frozen over $2.7 billion in total.[ABC News · CBS News]
  • The FBI previously tied the roughly $6.3 billion Binance theft to North Korean group TraderTraitor and, officials say, blamed North Korea for a separate $400 million scheme.[ABC News · CBS News]
  • Reporting does not detail how much of the seized or restrained amount has been recovered, and the North Korea attributions are official claims.[ABC News · CBS News]

Key facts

  • The FBI said it had seized or restrained more than $1.2 billion of cryptocurrency reported stolen from Binance last month.[ABC News · CBS News]
  • The theft from Binance is regarded as about $6.3 billion, the largest crypto heist in history, and the FBI previously attributed it to North Korean group TraderTraitor.[ABC News · CBS News]
  • The U.S. government and private sector have combined to freeze more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds.[ABC News · CBS News]
  • The Justice Department said it obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of that frozen total.[ABC News · CBS News]
  • The FBI blamed North Korea for a separate social engineering scheme that officials say resulted in $400 million in cryptocurrency theft over the last 18 months.[ABC News · CBS News]

What remains uncertain

  • The North Korea attributions are official claims, and the reporting does not detail the evidence supporting them.[ABC News · CBS News]
  • It is unclear from the reporting how much of the $1.2 billion has been recovered versus only seized or restrained.[ABC News · CBS News]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.