Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, suspended withdrawals after hackers broke into its digital wallets and stole $6 billion in what appears to be the biggest crypto heist ever.

Binance said late Thursday night that its initial investigation indicated the hack went through an engineer’s laptop, “which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.”

Blockchain evidence suggests the hack originated in North Korea, according to multiple crypto-tracing firms.

A team of cryptocurrency firms managed to freeze about $3 billion of the stolen loot amid a frenetic battle with the hackers to find and control the digital money.

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said on X that the attack was not a “one-click” action, but rather a complex process. The investigation has not attributed responsibility to any individual nor found evidence of any wallet private key leak.

Binance said it would cover all losses from the company’s funds and an emergency assets fund, adding “user funds are safe.”

The crypto exchange said it had temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals to allow security checks to be completed and blockchain intelligence partners to trace and recover funds. The crypto exchange expects withdrawal services to resume by Sunday morning.

Crypto-tracing firm TRM Labs attributed the heist to an elite North Korean hacking unit “based on robust on and off-chain intelligence,” pointing out that “several features of this attack match earlier North Korea-linked heists.”

Pangolin Intelligence, another blockchain-tracking firm based in Singapore, said it also believed that a North Korean hacking unit was behind the heist.“

Analyzing the on-chain activity related to this hack and correlating with information gathered from previous known incidents,” an analyst with Pangolin Intelligence said, “led to the attribution.”

“I think the cat and mouse game has barely begun yet,” the Pangolin Intelligence analyst added, noting that North Korea was likely poised to tap a network of money laundering organizations to try to cash out the stolen funds.

Chainalysis, another crypto-tracking company, said it was monitoring stolen funds “moving across multiple blockchains,” including bitcoin and ethereum.

A Chainalysis spokesperson told reporters the firm had “high confidence” North Korea was behind the hack.Pyongyang has previously denied hacking allegations.

If North Korea is proven to be the culprit, it would be little surprise to US law enforcement officials and private experts. North Korean hackers were blamed for the previous record-high crypto hack, when they allegedly stole $1.5 billion from Bybit, another major cryptocurrency exchange.

In that case, the attackers stole an amount equal to a significant portion of North Korea’s reported annual gross domestic product in a matter of minutes.

North Korea’s formidable hacking teams are a key source of revenue for the nuclear-armed, sanctions-battered regime, according to current and former US and South Korean officials.

Pyongyang-linked hackers have stolen billions of dollars from banks and cryptocurrency firms in the last several years, according to reports from the United Nations and private firms.

Unlike platforms for trading stocks, cryptocurrency exchanges tend to hold digital assets on their users’ behalf, which make them more vulnerable to hackers and theft, particularly given a lack of regulatory oversight within the relatively nascent industry.

Binance was co-founded in 2017 by Canadian national Changpeng Zhao, becoming the world’s largest crypto trading platform within a year of its launch. However, Zhao stepped down in 2023 after pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws in the US.

He was sentenced to four months in federal prison and was pardoned by President Donald Trump in October 2025.Zhao, who no longer manages the platform but remains its largest shareholder, said on X that he expects user funds to be fully covered by the exchange, pushing back against any suggestion to the contrary in a spat on X with Elon Musk.

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Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo on Friday, sentenced a middle-aged man, Bassey Edem Akpan, to five years in prison for child trafficking.

The convict was one of the six persons who conspired and stole a child, who was sold multiple times across different States in 2019.

The victim, an indigene of Akwa Ibom State, was first sold in Abia State for N100,000 before being transferred to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where the price increased to N300,000 and subsequently N400,000.

The child was later taken to Abuja, where the syndicate sold him for N1m.

Akpan stood trial alongside five co-defendants who absconded after being granted bail, leaving him as the only defendant to face the full trial.

The case commenced in Itu and subsequently moved through Ibiono Ibom before reaching Uyo, the State Capital and started de novo.

In its judgment, the Court, presided over by Justice Okon Okon, held that the prosecution had established its case against Akpan and found him guilty of child stealing.

The court sentenced him to five years imprisonment, with the sentence to take effect from the date of judgment.

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The driver of a bus conveying 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who were abducted in Imo State on Independence Day, has identified five suspects arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) as the persons who allegedly attacked his vehicle and kidnapped the passengers.

The driver, who testified as the third prosecution witness, made the identification on Friday, October 30, 2026 during the resumed trial of the five suspected kidnappers before the Imo State High Court in Mgbidi.

Another prosecution witness, Mr. Light Timothy, also told the court that he saw two of the defendants wielding AK-47 rifles shortly after the abduction along the Owerri–Mgbidi–Onitsha expressway.

Both witnesses maintained during their evidence-in-chief and cross-examination that they saw the defendants allegedly commit offences bordering on conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of firearms.

The bus driver told the court that he could clearly identify the first defendant as the person who initially approached his vehicle during the attack while armed with an AK-47 rifle.

He further stated that the same defendant was the person he saw leading the 20 prospective corps members into a nearby bush after they were taken hostage.

The driver said his identification was based on his direct encounter with the attackers during the incident.

In his testimony, Timothy said he sighted the first and second defendants after the abduction and subsequently identified both men as among those who attacked the bus.

He told the court that the identification was made during an identification parade conducted at the DSS state office.

During cross-examination, defence counsel requested the identity card of the bus driver as part of efforts to establish his identity.

Justice Emeka Orafu, who presided over the proceedings, reportedly confirmed that the colour photograph on the identity card presented by the driver bore a strong resemblance to him.

The testimonies of both witnesses, alongside the driver’s identity card, were subsequently admitted in evidence.

At the conclusion of proceedings, Justice Orafu adjourned the trial to Nov. 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2026, for continuation of hearing.

The five defendants are standing trial over their alleged involvement in the abduction of the 20 prospective NYSC members in Imo State.

The court is expected to continue hearing evidence from the prosecution and defence as proceedings resume on the scheduled dates.

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