Saudi crypto traders caught up in the biggest digital-currency heist on record are finding there's nobody at home to call. The kingdom doesn't formally recognize the market they trade in.
Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, said late Thursday that hackers had made off with about $6.3 billion. That's more than four times the previous record, the $1.5 billion stolen from rival exchange Bybit last year.
The exchange has suspended withdrawals while it overhauls its security. For now, users everywhere, Saudis included, can't take their money out.
How it happened: Binance's early findings point to a hacked laptop belonging to one of its engineers. That gave the attacker a way into its systems to push through unauthorized withdrawals.
The exchange says there's no sign the keys to its digital wallets were leaked. About $3 billion of the stolen funds has been frozen so far, with stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle locking up more than $2 billion between them.
The North Korea link: Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs blamed TraderTraitor, an elite North Korean hacking unit, and said it was making the call with high confidence.
North Korea has turned crypto theft into a state revenue stream. Attackers stole $2.9 billion across about 150 hacks last year, according to TRM.
Who pays: Binance says users won't lose out. It will cover the losses from its emergency user-protection fund and its own money, according to co-CEO Richard Teng.
Markets weren't so calm. Bitcoin fell more than 3% to $76,368 on Friday, its lowest in six weeks.
The Saudi gap: Crypto isn't legal tender in Saudi Arabia. The central bank has told local banks not to process payments to crypto exchanges, and there's still no single law governing digital assets.
Saudis trade anyway. The kingdom was the Middle East's fastest-growing crypto market in the year to mid-2024, with volume up 154%, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Binance's Arabic app sits in the Saudi App Store.
The regulator on the case is in Abu Dhabi, where Binance is licensed. The UAE's financial watchdog said it is "engaging closely with Binance" and monitoring the incident.
Gulf money on the line: Abu Dhabi's state-backed investor MGX put $2 billion into Binance last year, the biggest single investment in a crypto company at the time.
Why it matters: Saudi Arabia is still drafting its digital-asset strategy. The hack sharpens the choice: license local exchanges so traders have protection, or tighten the ban and push them further offshore.
What to watch: When Binance reopens withdrawals, and whether Saudi authorities say anything about the residents caught up in the freeze.
