On November 1, the pockets related to the incident transferred roughly 486,970 SOL, valued at $46.four million, towards Bitcoin by way of cross-chain service Relay Protocol.
The newest motion entails a reported stash of 970,522 SOL, value roughly $95.9 million. The conversion marks one other stage within the attacker’s efforts to maneuver stolen cryptocurrency throughout blockchain networks, complicating efforts by exchanges and safety companies to watch and prohibit the funds.
Binance Hacker Routes Stolen Solana By means of Relay Protocol
Lookonchain recognized the exercise by way of an handle labeled as belonging to the Binance attacker on Arkham Intelligence. Its November 1 submit said: “The Binance hacker is swapping the stolen 970,522 SOL ($95.9M) for BTC.”
Lookonchain reported that the hacker behind the $6.three billion Binance-related breach is changing 970,522 stolen SOL, value roughly $96 million, into Bitcoin. Supply: @lookonchain by way of X
The 486,970 SOL switch represents roughly half of the reported holdings. The remaining steadiness was valued at roughly $49.5 million on the time of the reported transactions. The figures describe the reported conversion pool and its preliminary motion, somewhat than a confirmed $95.9 million Bitcoin switch accomplished in a single transaction.
Relay Protocol facilitates cross-chain cryptocurrency swaps by connecting customers with completely different blockchain networks and liquidity sources. Its involvement gives one other route for transferring property between Solana and Bitcoin. Nonetheless, using a cross-chain service doesn’t routinely take away the transaction historical past or make the funds untraceable.
The newest conversion additionally follows earlier actions involving different stolen cryptocurrencies. Regulation enforcement officers have been monitoring the attacker’s pockets exercise as investigators and blockchain intelligence corporations work to determine transactions linked to the breach.
FBI Confirms North Korean Involvement in Binance Hack
The newest transactions come after the FBI formally attributed the October 29 Binance assault to North Korea’s state-sponsored cyber operation often known as TraderTraitor. The company introduced its findings on October 31, confirming that North Korea was chargeable for stealing greater than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from the alternate.
The FBI attributed the report $6.three billion cryptocurrency theft from Binance on October 29, 2026, to North Korea’s TraderTraitor hacking group, figuring out it as the most important identified crypto heist. Supply: FBI Cyber Branch by way of X
Blockchain intelligence agency TRM Labs had beforehand recognized TraderTraitor because the group behind the incident. Its investigation estimated that roughly $6.36 billion in digital assets was transferred from Binance wallets throughout ten blockchain networks, with many of the withdrawals occurring inside roughly 20 minutes.
The FBI additionally recognized the hackers’ efforts to transform stolen property, primarily into Ethereum. It warned that the attackers may transfer the funds by way of decentralized finance platforms and immediate cryptocurrency swap companies to facilitate further laundering.
In its assertion, the company warned of “additional laundering” by way of associated applied sciences and urged cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain operators, analytics corporations, and different service suppliers to dam transactions related to the recognized addresses.
The newest SOL-to-BTC exercise provides one other layer to these considerations. Though the FBI beforehand highlighted Ethereum conversions, the motion reported by Lookonchain reveals that the attacker can be utilizing cross-chain infrastructure to maneuver property into Bitcoin.
Binance Covers 95% of Stolen Property as Withdrawals Resume
Binance has continued replenishing the property affected by the safety breach whereas coordinating with regulation enforcement and trade companions to hint the stolen funds.
On November 1, the alternate confirmed that it had lined roughly 95% of the affected quantity, up from 90% in its October 31 restoration replace. The remaining 5% consists of less-liquid tokens that will require further time to amass by way of market purchases and over-the-counter transactions.
Binance has expanded withdrawal companies to incorporate DOGE on its native community and ETH, USDT, and USDC on Optimism, following earlier resumptions throughout BTC, ETH, BSC, XRP, and Base. Supply: Binance by way of X
The replenishment effort has concerned the Safe Asset Fund for Customers (SAFU), a portion of the Futures Insurance coverage Fund, and Binance’s company treasury. The alternate has repeatedly said that prospects is not going to bear the monetary affect of the assault.
“Binance will take up the monetary affect of the stolen funds, not our customers,” the corporate mentioned in its safety incident updates.
The alternate additionally started restoring withdrawal services in phases on November 1 after quickly suspending withdrawals whereas conducting safety evaluations. The preliminary part lined a number of networks and property, together with Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin. Binance mentioned it might progressively restore further companies as safety checks have been accomplished.
The corporate individually reported that roughly $three billion in affected property had been frozen on-chain by way of coordination with regulation enforcement, blockchain intelligence companies, asset issuers and different trade contributors. This represents a separate enforcement and restoration effort from Binance’s personal asset-replenishment dedication.
Bitcoin Conversion Complicates Crypto Restoration Efforts
Transferring stolen cryptocurrency into Bitcoin can create further challenges for investigators, notably when transactions move by way of a number of networks and pockets addresses.
In contrast to centralized stablecoins, which issuers can freeze on the token-contract degree, Bitcoin doesn’t have a government able to freezing funds throughout its community. Nonetheless, this doesn’t imply that Bitcoin transactions are nameless or unimaginable to hint. Its public blockchain information transactions, permitting investigators and analytics companies to comply with fund actions between addresses.
Cross-chain companies can complicate that course of by splitting transactions throughout completely different networks and liquidity suppliers. Investigators may have to attach exercise throughout a number of blockchain information to determine the place property transfer after every conversion. Exchanges and different regulated service suppliers may also prohibit deposits and withdrawals related to recognized addresses.
The FBI’s request for cryptocurrency companies and infrastructure suppliers to dam transactions linked to TraderTraitor displays the significance of coordinated motion in containing the motion of stolen property. Binance has additionally credited trade companions for serving to freeze funds and monitor transactions following the October 29 breach.
For now, the reported motion of practically $46.four million in Solana towards Bitcoin stays an vital improvement within the ongoing investigation. Whether or not the attacker can transfer your complete $95.9 million pool into BTC stays to be established. In the meantime, the mix of public blockchain monitoring, transaction screening, and cooperation amongst trade contributors will stay central to efforts to trace the stolen funds and forestall additional transfers.
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