The U.S. Department of Justice said on Nov. 12, 2026, that it had obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance, marking a major legal step in the U.S. response to an attack the FBI attributed to North Korean actors.
The authorization does not by itself mean all of the assets have been permanently recovered. The DOJ said tracing and forfeiture efforts were continuing, while more than $2.7 billion of stolen assets had been frozen through government and private-sector action.
Court authorization covers more than $1.2 billion in Binance hack proceeds
In its Nov. 12 announcement, the Justice Department said the court authorization covered more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency linked to the Binance theft. The department described the action as authority to seize or restrain the assets.
That wording is significant in a case where the government is still following funds through the crypto ecosystem. A restraint can prevent assets from being moved while legal proceedings continue; forfeiture is the process through which the government seeks to take permanent ownership under court supervision. The DOJ did not state in the announcement that the broader recovery operation had concluded.
FBI attributes theft to TraderTraitor
The FBI said the theft of more than $6 billion from Binance occurred on or about Oct. 29, 2026. In a public alert issued Oct. 31, the bureau attributed the attack to North Korean actors it identifies as TraderTraitor.
The bureau said the stolen assets were being converted primarily into Ether. That conversion forms part of the backdrop for the government’s tracing work and the subsequent effort to restrain or seize assets connected to the theft.
More than $2.7 billion is frozen as tracing continues
The DOJ put the amount frozen through combined government and private-sector efforts at more than $2.7 billion. That figure is larger than the assets covered by the newly announced court authorization, underscoring that freezes, seizures and eventual forfeiture are related but distinct stages in the response.
Separately, the Associated Press reported on Nov. 13 that the FBI said U.S. authorities had seized more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency and that government and private-sector efforts had frozen more than $2.7 billion. The DOJ said tracing and forfeiture work remains ongoing.
