The United States Secret Service has launched efforts to trace and recover funds stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Binance following a $6.3 billion cyberattack believed to be one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in history.
The agency said it was working around the clock with private sector partners to identify, freeze, trace and recover the stolen funds.
In a statement, the Secret Service said it was coordinating with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and other law enforcement agencies to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.
The investigation remains in its early stages, with authorities promising to release additional information as it becomes available.
Meanwhile, Binance has confirmed that it has begun recovering some of the stolen funds, describing the incident as a complex attack that may have involved multiple hackers.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has identified similarities between the attack and previous cyber incidents linked to North Korea. Analysts suspect the country could be behind the theft, although its involvement has not been confirmed.
North Korea has repeatedly been accused of using cryptocurrency theft to generate revenue for its weapons programmes.
News of the hack also triggered a decline in Bitcoin’s value, which dropped by approximately four per cent.
Despite the financial impact, the incident has not significantly undermined the broader cryptocurrency market, which is valued at trillions of dollars.
