US Seizes $1.2 Billion of Crypto Stolen From Binance in North Korea-Linked Hack
The seizure recovers a fraction of the roughly $6.3 billion taken, and the FBI links the theft and a separate scam to North Korean actors.
US authorities said they have obtained court approval to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of the roughly $6.3 billion stolen from Binance in a hack last month, which is widely described as the largest crypto theft on record and has been attributed by the FBI to North Korea's TraderTraitor group. Separately, the FBI tied a social engineering operation called FaceStealer to North Korean actors, claiming more than $400 million in crypto was taken over the past 18 months. That scheme combines hijacked messaging accounts with recorded and deepfake video calls, and it lures victims into installing malware through a fake technical-fix prompt. The cloud infrastructure used in the campaign has also been seized. Officials say the funds support North Korea's weapons programs. Under the usual forfeiture procedure, the government files a claim and a judge then decides who has a legitimate right to the recovered assets.
Why it matters
The case shows how state-linked groups are moving money out of crypto platforms through both large exchange hacks and targeted social engineering of individual users. For ordinary holders, the FaceStealer scheme shows that a convincing video call or a fake technical error can be enough to compromise an account. For the wider crypto market, the seizure is a reminder that stolen funds can sometimes be recovered through the courts, though the amount recovered so far is well below the total taken. Recovered assets will only change hands once a judge decides who has a legitimate claim to them.
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