WASHINGTON — US authorities say they have helped freeze almost half of the crypto stolen from Binance last month and have secured court approval to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of it.
In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Justice said members of the North Korean military, known to the FBI as “TraderTraitor”, stole more than $6 billion in virtual assets from the exchange on or about 29 October. “Collective U.S. government and private sector efforts so far have resulted in the freeze of more than $2.7 billion,” the department said, with court authorisation already obtained for over $1.2 billion of that amount.
Stablecoin issuers played a role
Much of the frozen money was locked by stablecoin issuers. Bloomberg Government reported that the $2.7 billion was frozen by Tether and Circle in the immediate aftermath of the break-in. Freezing stops funds from moving; seizure and forfeiture require further legal steps before any money can be returned.
The department said the hackers “continue to launder such assets through various cryptocurrency bridges, mixers, and exchanges” and that tracing efforts are ongoing. The Associated Press put the total theft at about $6.3 billion, the largest crypto heist on record. North Korea has denied involvement.
A second scheme disrupted
The same announcement covered “FaceStealer”, a separate North Korean social-engineering campaign. The DOJ said it seized cloud infrastructure behind the scheme, which lured targets into fake video calls and has stolen more than $400 million in crypto. DW reported the thefts took place over about 18 months.
Binance said on Friday that it had fully covered customer losses after committing more than $6.34 billion of company funds and was reopening withdrawals in phases, UPI reported.
Markets remain under pressure
The recovery news has not lifted prices. Bitcoin fell as low as $62,112 in Asian trading on Sunday, its weakest level since 14 July, with about $2 billion of leveraged positions liquidated over 24 hours, according to Bloomberg data reported by Cryptoweek. Analysts have pointed to ETF outflows and expectations of tighter US monetary policy, alongside the hack’s hit to confidence.
What it means for African readers
Nigeria has the highest crypto-asset penetration in Africa, followed by Morocco, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa, according to an OECD report cited by The EastAfrican. Many African traders use large global exchanges such as Binance, so a theft of this size matters even when customers are made whole.
The case also shows how much power centralised stablecoin issuers hold: the same ability to freeze that helped here can be used against ordinary users. Practical steps include keeping only trading balances on exchanges, enabling hardware-key two-factor authentication and being wary of unexpected video calls or job offers, which the FaceStealer case shows are now a common attack route.
What to watch
- Formal forfeiture filings that would move the $1.2 billion from restraint to government control, and any plan to return funds to Binance.
- Whether more of the remaining stolen assets are frozen as they pass through bridges and exchanges.
- Any guidance from African regulators, including Nigeria’s SEC and Kenya’s CBK and CMA, on exchange security standards.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
