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North Korean Hackers Create Memecoins to Launder Proceeds of $6.3 Billion Binance Hack

North Korean Hackers Create Memecoins to Launder Proceeds of $6.3 Billion Binance Hack

Elliptic identified six tokens allegedly used to disguise stolen NEAR as cryptocurrency trading earnings

Written by Rahul Dhingra, Edited by Rohan Pal | Updated: 10 November 2026 17:34 IST

North Korean Hackers Create Memecoins to Launder Proceeds of $6.3 Billion Binance Hack

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Julio Lopez

One token featured Elon Musk under an 'Elon 2028 President' banner

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Highlights

The tokens were created between November 5 and November 7
Outsiders accounted for less than one percent of trades in one coin
Around 11.8 million stolen NEAR tokens remained unmoved

The North Korean hackers are developing their own memecoins to launder money from the $6.3 billion (roughly Rs. 59,018 crore) Binance hack by generating false trade volumes to legitimise their gains. According to an analysis by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, the hackers transferred 117,000 NEAR tokens, valued at approximately $430,000 (roughly Rs. 4 crore), through six memecoins that were created between November 5 and November 7. This includes one token showing a picture of Elon Musk under an “Elon 2028 President” banner. Still, according to Elliptic, there is no indication that Musk has any link to the tokens.

FBI Attributes the Binance Exploit to North Korea's TraderTraitor Hacking Group

According to Elliptic, each memecoin was paired with NEAR in its own liquidity pool on the decentralised exchange, and the same set of wallets was used to buy memecoins using stolen NEAR coins and another set to sell those very memecoins for NEAR, ensuring that the stolen NEAR coins do not get transferred from one wallet to another. As a result, the money appears as trading earnings.

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Elliptic co-founder and chief scientist Tom Robinson told CoinDesk, “The launderers made six of these crypto tokens, and traded them only with themselves. That makes the stolen funds look like trading proceeds.” Elliptic observed that nearly all transactions came from wallets connected with the launderers, while outsiders comprised less than 1 percent of trades of one coin. Transactions of all six coins were halted as of November 8.

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According to the FBI, the TraderTraitor group from North Korea is behind the Binance theft on October 29. The hackers have also utilised the THORChain platform to transform the stolen coins into Bitcoin, whose transactions cannot be halted by any centralised authority.

According to Elliptic, the same laundering method was employed after the Bybit hack of $1.5 billion (roughly Rs. 14,052 crore) in 2025, where the North Korean-affiliated hackers laundered at least $24 million (roughly Rs. 225 crore) using a new token on the TRON blockchain. According to the report, about 11.8 million NEAR stolen in the Binance hack had not been moved. Elliptic estimated the value of these funds at $43.7 million (roughly Rs. 409 crore).

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.

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Further reading: Crypto hacks, Crypto Scams, binance hack

Rahul Dhingra

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Rahul Dhingra is a crypto writer at Gadgets 360, where he covers the exciting world of Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Defi and Web3. Before joining Gadgets 360, he worked as a content specialist for a European-based Crypto Exchange. Rahul loves storytelling, not just through the written word but also through the visual medium. Beyond his professional life, Rahul is a sports fanatic. Whether it’s cricket or football, his passion for the game is contagious. More