FBI says it’s recovered $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen from Binance

November 13, 2026 / 5:52 AM EST / CBS/AP

Washington — The FBI said Thursday that it had seized more than $1.2 billion of cryptocurrency reported stolen last month from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange.

The theft of about $6.3 billion from Binance is regarded as the biggest crypto heist in history, and the FBI has previously attributed it to a North Korean hacking group known as TraderTraitor.

The U.S. government and private sector have so far combined to freeze more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds, and the Justice Department said Thursday that it has now obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of that total.

Typically in those situations, the U.S. government will file a claim of forfeiture with a judge, who will then determine who has a legitimate claim to the recovered funds.

Also Thursday, the FBI blamed North Korea for a separate social engineering scheme that officials say resulted in the theft of $400 million worth of cryptocurrency over the last 18 months. That scheme, known as FaceStealer, involves a complicated chain of events combining the hijacking of popular messaging apps and the recording of deepfake videos.

U.S. officials have…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/