North Korea has dismissed as “absurd rhetoric” a US accusation that it was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in digital assets from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of leader Kim Jong Un, called the allegation a serious political provocation, according to state news agency KCNA on Tuesday, and accused Washington of hostility toward Pyongyang.
The FBI said over the weekend that North Korea was behind the theft. It attributed the attack to members of TraderTraitor, a state-backed group. Cybersecurity experts say North Korean hackers are among the most active cryptocurrency thieves, and that stolen funds help finance the country’s weapons programs. Pyongyang regularly denies involvement in crypto theft and other cybercrime.
After Binance resumed withdrawals, customers pulled $3.64 billion from the exchange, or 2.1% of its assets under management, the company said on Monday. It added that outflows had stabilised after an initial surge.
Binance disputed DefiLlama data putting withdrawals at $5.81 billion. A company spokesperson said that figure was inaccurate because it counted internal transfers to new Binance wallets. The exchange said it held $171 billion in assets at the end of October.
Bitcoin recovered slightly on Monday, climbing above $78,000 after falling to a six-week low on Friday. Institutional investors remained cautious: US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $643 million in outflows on Friday. Ari Redbord of blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs said a crypto exchange hack was like a bank robbery at internet speed, creating an unstable risk profile for those responsible for other people’s money.
Sources: Der Spiegel.