DOJ Wins Authorization to Seize Over $1.2 Billion Linked to Binance Theft
What happened: In a distinct operation announced alongside the FaceStealer action, the Justice Department obtained court authorization to seize more than $1.
What happened: In a distinct operation announced alongside the FaceStealer action, the Justice Department obtained court authorization to seize more than $1.2 billion stolen in the October 29 Binance hack. The supplied research puts the total theft at approximately $6.36 billion across 10 blockchains, with most assets drained in roughly 20 minutes, and says $2.7 billion has been frozen through cooperation between authorities and private companies. The FBI attributed the attack to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group; research identified a compromised employee laptop or hot-wallet signing infrastructure as a likely entry route, rather than an established final explanation.
Why it matters: The crucial distinction is between money frozen, money covered by seizure authorization and money actually returned: the reported $2.7 billion and $1.2 billion figures describe different stages of enforcement. Neither figure establishes full recovery, and presenting them as separate pools that can simply be added together would overstate what authorities have achieved. The case also illustrates the operational challenge of tracing assets across multiple chains while preserving the legal and technical ability to take control of them.