Read this article on bsc.news Former @Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, has called on the United States and China to open diplomatic channels with North Korea to help recover assets st
Former @Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, has called on the United States and China to open diplomatic channels with North Korea to help recover assets stolen in the Binance hack. He also denied having any behind-the-scenes contact with President Donald Trump or other American officials about the incident.
"If there's anybody who can talk to North Korea, that's probably... the U.S. and China," Zhao said. "We would love to get some help," he added.
His comments suggest that government-level assistance may be the most practical route for retrieving funds taken by state-backed hackers.
Binance first disclosed the breach on Thursday, saying hackers had stolen approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets. It is the largest cryptocurrency heist on record, surpassing the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in 2025. Binance said an initial investigation suggested the hack went through an engineer's laptop, which allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.
The FBI attributed the theft to North Korean cyber activity known as "TraderTraitor." NPR reported that TraderTraitor is an arm of the larger Lazarus Group, which sits under North Korean military intelligence. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has denied the accusations and called them a political provocation, according to CoinDesk.
On the question of contact between the two countries and Pyongyang, Trump has said he is unsure of North Korea's involvement. "We don't know if it's North Korea, but if it is, we'll talk to them about it," he told reporters.
Some of the stolen funds have already been secured. Binance said it worked with other exchanges, blockchain analytics firms and law enforcement agencies to freeze or recover approximately $3 billion in stolen assets. The US Secret Service said on November 1 that investigators were continuing efforts to trace and recover the stolen cryptocurrency.
For customers, the impact has been limited. Binance reopened withdrawals on Sunday after replacing about 95% of the $6.3 billion stolen. The exchange said it will absorb the financial impact, not its users.
Recovering the rest is harder. A United Nations Security Council Panel of Experts report found that cyber theft now provides about half of North Korea's foreign currency earnings, according to NPR. That helps explain why Zhao is looking to governments with leverage over Pyongyang rather than relying on private recovery efforts alone.
Sources
