Hours after withdrawals reopened on Binance following the recent massive hack, crypto users rushed to move their holdings… more than $4 billion deserted the platform. A wave of panic which coincides with an explosive announcement from the FBI: the heist would be the work of a North Korean commando targeted by an international wanted notice.
In brief
- More than $4 billion in withdrawals were processed by Binance as soon as crypto withdrawal services reopened.
- Crypto users are primarily withdrawing USDT ($1.96 billion) and Bitcoin ($1.5 billion) on Binance.
- The FBI officially attributes the theft to North Korean state cybercriminals under the banner “TraderTraitor.”
Crypto: +$4 billion soars on Binance as soon as withdrawals reopen
According to on-chain data shared by CryptoQuant, the outcry over withdrawal restrictions not only relieved users, it triggered a real rush to exit. As soon as Binance teams restored access to crypto wallets, capital flows boomed. Nearly $1.96 billion worth of Tether (USDT) withdrawn in just a few hours; around $1.5 billion worth of BTC left the platform; hundreds of millions of additional dollars evacuated into Ethereum and stablecoins.
However, Richard Teng had multiplied the pledges of good faith, affirming that the company had reconstituted approximately 95% of the impacted assets and that Binance’s own cash flow would absorb 100% of the shock. But in the face of psychosis, the golden rule of the ecosystem: “Not your keys, not your coins”pushed a massive fringe of crypto users to migrate to cold wallets.
| Asset / Token | Amount withdrawn (in USD) | Share of post-reopening exodus |
| USDT (Tether) | $1.96 billion | Massive dominance over stablecoins |
| Bitcoin ($BTC) $1.50 billion | Flight to personal custody | |
| USD / Others | $557 million | Withdrawals of various cash |
| Ethereum & Altcoins | ~ hundreds of millions | Movements on secondary networks |
Hack Binance, the FBI formalizes the North Korean trail and the “TraderTraitor” group
While the crypto platform Binance is trying to stem this capital flight, the FBI (alongside the USSS and the IRS-CI) has thrown a wrench into the pond by publishing a damning press release. American authorities formally attribute the massive hack to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. This major cyberattack is officially listed under the signature of the malicious cell “TraderTraitor”.
The FBI releases information indicating that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) is responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets from the Binance cryptocurrency exchange…
According to FBI information, the pirates are working to launder the money. Stolen funds are primarily converted into Ethereum (ETH) before being injected into instant exchange services (instant swaps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. A list of compromised addresses has also been made public to require THORChain nodes, RPC validators and DeFi platforms to completely block any interaction with these wallets.
Park Jin Hyok and the terrifying history of state crypto hackers
This involvement of Pyongyang in the Binance crypto hack puts well-known figures from international intelligence services back in the spotlight. The investigation points directly to elite structures comparable to the Lazarus/APT38 networks. Among the figures targeted by Washington for these computer conspiracies is the infamous Park Jin Hyok, a North Korean programmer and secret agent under an international arrest warrant from the FBI. His criminal CV is dizzying:
- 2014: The resounding hack of Sony Pictures.
- 2016: The heist of the Central Bank of Bangladesh (81 million dollars stolen).
- 2017: The global spread of the devastating WannaCry ransomware (300,000 computers infected in 150 countries).
The authorities recall that the billions thus stolen by the Pyongyang regime are used directly to finance its nuclear and military weapons programs. Being based in North Korea, these crypto hackers benefit from total impunity beyond the reach of Western jurisdictions.
Between an exodus of $4 billion in a few hours and the formalization of a cyber war led by a rogue state, Binance is undoubtedly going through the most violent zone of turbulence in its history. If the crypto exchange demonstrates extraordinary financial resilience by honoring withdrawals, investor confidence has been deeply shaken. And you, have you also withdrawn your funds on Binance?
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