The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, was struck by a massive $6.3 billion cyber heist on Thursday, October 29, 2026. The theft ranks as the largest cryptocurrency heist in history.
Multiple leading cryptocurrency analytics firms and security agencies have formally accused North Korea of orchestrating the $6.3 billion theft. These allegations raise serious questions about the scale of the operation, the perpetrators, and the potential geopolitical implications of an attack of this magnitude.
On October 23, 2025, President Donald Trump pardoned Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who had previously pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Zhao’s prosecution involved Binance’s failure to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the pardon, stating that the Biden administration had prosecuted Zhao as part of its purported “war on cryptocurrency.”
The timing and circumstances of Trump’s pardon now raise even more serious questions in the wake of the Binance heist and the reported involvement of a North Korean state-sponsored hacking operation.
Is Trump complicit in aiding and abetting North Korea, directly or indirectly, by granting clemency to Binance’s founder? What responsibility, if any, does the administration bear for the consequences of that decision?
And given the alleged involvement of a hostile foreign government in a theft of this unprecedented magnitude, should the attack be examined not only as a massive international financial crime, but also under the legal frameworks governing acts of war, cyberwarfare, and crimes against humanity?
The allegations against North Korea are substantial. TRM Labs says it has high confidence in its attribution to the North Korean hacking unit TraderTraitor, and Chainalysis and other investigators have also pointed to North Korea.
Relevant reporting and documentation: