Binance-Hacker greifen zu Elon-Musk-Memecoins, um 6,3 Milliarden Dollar zu verstecken

TheStreet Roundtable · 2026-11-10T16:17:02.000Z

HIVE-CEO reagiert auf Elon Musks Warnung vor Neoclouds (4:14) Die Hacker hinter dem größten Kryptodiebstahl aller Zeiten waschen ihre Beute über Memecoins, die sie selbst prägen. Mit Nordkorea verbundene Geldwäscher erstellten wertlose Token auf NEAR, Tron und Solana und leiteten dann gestohlene Binance-Gelder durch Pools dezentraler Börsen, die auf diesen Token basierten, wie das Blockchain-Analyseunternehmen Elliptic berichtet. Die Token haben keinen eigenen Wert. Sie sollen Geldwäsche wie Handel aussehen lassen, damit gestohlene Vermögenswerte durch Swaps geschleust werden, die schwerer von gewöhnlicher Spekulation zu unterscheiden sind.

HIVE CEO responds to Elon Musk's neocloud warning (4:14)
The hackers behind the largest crypto theft on record are laundering their haul through memecoins they mint themselves.
North Korea-linked launderers created worthless tokens on NEAR, Tron and Solana, then routed stolen Binance funds through decentralized exchange pools built around them, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. The tokens have no value of their own. Their job is to make laundering look like trading, so stolen assets pass through swaps that are harder to tell apart from routine speculation.
The disguise borrows from memecoin culture. 
One of six NEAR tokens displayed Elon Musk under an “Elon 2028 President” banner, the kind of branding that blends into a crowded field of celebrity-themed coins.
Elliptic said there is no suggestion Musk has any connection to the tokens.
How the memecoin trick works
The method is simple. Launderers create a token and pair it with a real asset like NEAR in a liquidity pool. One set of wallets buys the token with stolen funds, and a second set sells it back and withdraws clean assets.
Related: Musk warned America will go 1,000% bankrupt. Now U.S. debt tops $40 trillion and counting
The stolen funds never move directly between the two sets of wallets.
According to the Elliptic report, the six NEAR tokens were created between Nov. 5 and Nov. 7. Each cost about 25 NEAR, or roughly $90, to launch. About 117,000 NEAR, around $430,000, passed through them. None has traded since Nov. 8.
The firm said the trail can still be followed on-chain. The tokens slow investigators down rather than hide the money.
Launderers used the same trick after the Bybit hack in 2025, moving at least $24 million.
Where the stolen $6.3 billion stands
Binance put the impact of the Oct. 29 attack at $6.34 billion, while Elliptic puts the figure at $6.43 billion. About $2.85 billion has been frozen.
Elliptic said roughly $3.0 billion remains in addresses linked to the theft. It believes North Korea very likely still holds those funds. North Korea denies involvement.
The FBI formally blamed North Korea’s TraderTraitor group on Oct. 31. In another report, TRM Labs put total losses at about $6.36 billion across ten blockchains, including 18,270 BTC sent to a single address and split across 19 wallets.
Binance has borne the full loss from its own funds, so users bear none of it. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao warned that AI is giving hackers an edge over exchanges and banks.
“In the short term, I think that we’re gonna see a lot more hacks,” he said in a post, adding that AI could eventually lead to strengthen defenses.
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Related: Binance founder issues chilling warning after record crypto heist