U.S. Justice Department Freezes or Preserves $2.7 Billion Tied to Binance Theft

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says it froze or preserved about $2.7 billion in funds tied to stolen Binance assets, a sum approaching half of reported losses topping $6 billion.

The DOJ worked with two stablecoin issuers on the action. The reported total covers funds that were frozen or preserved; it does not describe a completed payout to victims.

The scale of the action is clear against the reported loss figure: more than $6 billion in assets were stolen, and roughly $2.7 billion has been placed under restriction or preservation. The funds represent a substantial portion of that total, though the reported figure does not separate the amount frozen from the amount preserved.

In a separate warning, the FBI's cyber division said North Korean hackers are using a social engineering method called FaceStealer to steal crypto assets. The warning described impersonation through fake video-conferencing platforms and attacks on software supply chains as methods used in the activity.