Protocols & Policy · Enforcement
The agency said investigators worked with industry partners as the Binance incident unfolded, and named the federal offices still on the case.
The U.S. Secret Service says its investigators worked with industry partners within minutes to freeze part of the crypto the FBI says North Korea took from Binance, and it has named the federal offices now working the case with it [2][1].
"Within minutes of the incident on Thursday afternoon, Secret Service investigators worked with industry partners to identify and freeze a significant portion of stolen cryptocurrency," the agency said in a post on X at 1:11 p.m. ET Sunday [2]. It gave no dollar amount for what was frozen, and neither do we.
The post names the partners exactly: "That work continues with the @FBI, @IRS_CI, the @USAO_DC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, DOJ CCIPS, and @DOJNatSec" [2]. In plain names, that is the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and its National Security Division. With the Secret Service, that makes seven.
Freezing works because most crypto has to pass through a company to become spendable money. Exchanges, swap services and some token issuers can lock coins that reach them. The Secret Service post links to what it calls "a list of addresses that are holding or have held assets from the theft" [2].
The FBI's alert, dated Oct. 31, is the primary record. It says North Korea "was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion USD in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026," names the activity "TraderTraitor," and says the "FBI, together with partners at the USSS and IRS-CI," has watched the actors "converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum (ETH)" [1]. It asks THORNode operators, RPC node operators, instant exchanges, DeFi services, blockchain analytics firms and other crypto service providers to block transactions with the listed addresses. By Le Coin's count, the list holds more than 600 Ethereum addresses [1]. We covered the attribution in our FBI report [5].
Binance's own measure is different. It put the "estimated total impact" at "around $6.3B" in a post on X on Oct. 29 [3].
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Offices named alongside the Secret Service | 6 | Secret Service [2] |
| Ethereum addresses on FBI list (Le Coin's count) | 608 | FBI [1] |
| Binance "estimated total impact" | $6.3B | Binance [3] |
| BTC price | $77,879 | CoinGecko, 6:14 a.m. ET [4] |
| BTC 24h change | −0.03% | CoinGecko [4] |
| BNB price | $704.53 | CoinGecko, 6:14 a.m. ET [4] |
| BNB 24h change | −1.39% | CoinGecko [4] |
Sources: FBI; U.S. Secret Service and Binance posts on X; CoinGecko API, 6:14 a.m. ET Nov. 2, 2026. Address count is Le Coin's count of the FBI list. Powered by CoinGecko API. No link is drawn between the statements and the prices.
"A significant portion" is not a number. The statement does not say how much is frozen, where, or by whom. Without that, readers cannot tell how much of Binance's estimated total impact remains in motion. Investigations are allegations until charged and proved. Neither statement announces charges.
The list of offices is the signal. Two U.S. Attorney's Offices and two Justice Department units, including national security, suggest the government is building a case, not only issuing an alert. Watch for a court filing, which would be the first document to put a frozen figure on the record.
The Secret Service says part of the funds was frozen within minutes and names six offices working with it. It gives no amount.
Holding the Corner.
Not financial advice.