11/02/2026
A simple explainer of the massive $6.3 billion crypto heist at Binance
NPR - MPR News
It was the biggest cyber heist in history.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was hacked this week, with cybercriminals plundering more than $6 billion. The FBI on Saturday
confirmed that North Korea was behind the hack, confirming what experts had widely believed in the aftermath of the attacks. Law enforcement attributed the attacks to a sophisticated unit within the North Korean military that has a track record of committing cyber heists.
The theft stunned the crypto industry and set off new fears about a sector that many critics deride as the "Wild West" of finance.
Here are 5 things to know about the spectacular heist.
So first, what are crypto exchanges?
They are akin to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq, but instead of trading stocks, investors turn to Binance and other crypto exchanges to trade digital assets such as Bitcoin.
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