North Korea Rejects FBI Allegation Over $6bn Binance Crypto Theft
North Korea has rejected allegations by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) linking it to the theft of more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, describing the accusation as a grave political provocation.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, made the remarks in a statement carried by the country’s state news agency, KCNA, on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Kim accused Washington of attempting to portray North Korea as a cybercrime-supporting state and undermine its international reputation through allegations linking it to major cryptocurrency thefts.
She described the FBI’s position as “absurd rhetoric and nothing new”, arguing that the United States had repeatedly associated North Korea with international cyberattacks.
“The US misleads international public opinion as if all the cyber crimes in different parts of the world are our deeds,” she said, according to KCNA.
Her response followed an announcement by the FBI on October 31, in which the American agency attributed the theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance to North Korea.
The FBI identified the operation as TraderTraitor, a hacking operation associated with North Korean cyber activities.
According to the agency, the stolen assets were being converted primarily into Ether, a cryptocurrency, with investigators warning that the perpetrators could attempt to move the funds through decentralised finance platforms and cryptocurrency swapping services to conceal their origins.
The FBI, working with the United States Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division, urged cryptocurrency platforms and other virtual asset service providers to block transactions connected to the digital wallet addresses associated with the operation.
Kim described the accusation as an attempt to damage North Korea’s national image and a violation of its sovereignty.
She also warned that Washington’s position had reinforced Pyongyang’s concerns about what she described as America’s hostile attitude towards the country.
The latest dispute comes amid previous American allegations linking North Korean hackers to major cryptocurrency thefts, including the February 2025 attack on cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, in which approximately $1.5 billion was stolen.
North Korea has repeatedly denied allegations of state-sponsored cybercrime, while American authorities and cybersecurity investigators have continued to link several major cryptocurrency thefts to hacking operations associated with the country.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump expressed uncertainty about North Korea’s involvement in the latest incident when questioned by reporters in Florida.
“We don’t know if it’s North Korea,” Trump said, adding that investigators were still learning about the incident.
The Binance incident has renewed international attention on cryptocurrency security and the alleged use of cyber operations to obtain funds outside conventional financial systems.
The FBI has urged cryptocurrency operators and other relevant service providers to monitor and block transactions connected to the addresses identified in its investigation.
