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Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has lost over $6.3 billion to hackers linked to North Korea, in the biggest crypto theft ever recorded.
According to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, the entire operation took just 20 minutes.
TRM Labs said the attack was carried out by TraderTraitor, an elite hacking unit from North Korea. The same group was blamed by the FBI for the $1.5 billion Bybit hack last year.
The incident is being described as the largest bank heist in human history, based on the amount stolen.
Binance, which has over 335 million users worldwide, has suspended deposits and withdrawals. The company, however, assured customers that their funds are safe and that it will cover all losses.
Reacting to the incident, Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said initial investigation shows the attack may have started after a DevOps engineer's laptop was compromised.
He explained on X that the attackers did not just use one engineer's permission and it was not a one-click action, but a complex process. He added that no individual has been blamed and the company is working with law enforcement.
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao also said the development looked like a hack.
TRM Labs disclosed that the hackers moved billions of dollars across eight blockchain networks in about 15 minutes, after preparing for at least 36 hours.
Ari Redbord, chief policy officer at TRM Labs, said the theft is extraordinary for its size and speed, noting that few financial systems have ever witnessed such scale of theft.
Following the discovery, more than $3 billion of the stolen assets have been frozen to stop the hackers from cashing out. But about $2.4 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ether, the world's two biggest cryptocurrencies, is still believed to be under the control of the attackers.
Reacting, Izabella Kaminska, editor of The Blind Spot publication, described the attack as highly sophisticated and well-rehearsed.
She said the incident has exposed how vulnerable crypto platforms are, despite claims of being decentralised. According to her, most crypto platforms are as centralised as traditional banks, but without the safety net of a lender of last resort or deposit insurance.
Binance said its security team is urgently reviewing the incident and warned users to be careful of scams.
Meanwhile, the hack has hit the crypto market. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, fell 5 percent in 24 hours to about $77,000 as of early Friday morning UK time, while some smaller digital assets dropped by almost 10 percent.
Analysts said although the fall is significant, it is not unusual for the volatile crypto market. They, however, warned that with growing links between crypto firms and Wall Street, the risk of contagion spreading to the wider financial system is real.