What CZ actually said:*$AGT $IDOL $ICNT
1. *Denies talks with Trump:*
> "I have not personally spoken with Trump or anyone in Washington about the incident."
Important context: Trump had pardoned CZ on Oct 23, 2025 (full pardon for his AML conviction), and Trump said on Oct 31 "we'll talk to North Korea about it." That sparked speculation CZ was lobbying Trump behind the scenes. CZ says no.
2. *Calls for US + China to help:*
> "We would love for them to help us. Myself, Binance as a company, the industry, the crypto industry as a whole, would love to get help from the U.S. government."
He identified Washington and Beijing as the two governments best positioned to communicate with Pyongyang — because North Korea doesn't talk to Binance, but it does talk (or at least listen) to the US and China.
*Why he says government help is needed:*
- Binance says $6.34B was affected, $2.85B frozen / intercepted so far. Elliptic says ∼$3.24B still sits in attacker wallets, mostly BTC and ETH.
- On-chain freezes (Tether, Circle) can stop stablecoins, but not BTC/ETH once laundered through THORChain, mixers, etc.
- Only a state-level diplomatic channel could pressure Pyongyang to return funds — same model as past US-DPRK negotiations.
*North Korea's response same day:*
Kim Yo Jong (Kim Jong Un's sister) via KCNA called the FBI attribution a "grave political provocation" and "absurd rhetoric," denied both Binance and Bybit hacks, and hinted the US itself might be behind it to seize crypto. No evidence offered.
1. *Denies talks with Trump:*
> "I have not personally spoken with Trump or anyone in Washington about the incident."
Important context: Trump had pardoned CZ on Oct 23, 2025 (full pardon for his AML conviction), and Trump said on Oct 31 "we'll talk to North Korea about it." That sparked speculation CZ was lobbying Trump behind the scenes. CZ says no.
2. *Calls for US + China to help:*
> "We would love for them to help us. Myself, Binance as a company, the industry, the crypto industry as a whole, would love to get help from the U.S. government."
He identified Washington and Beijing as the two governments best positioned to communicate with Pyongyang — because North Korea doesn't talk to Binance, but it does talk (or at least listen) to the US and China.
*Why he says government help is needed:*
- Binance says $6.34B was affected, $2.85B frozen / intercepted so far. Elliptic says ∼$3.24B still sits in attacker wallets, mostly BTC and ETH.
- On-chain freezes (Tether, Circle) can stop stablecoins, but not BTC/ETH once laundered through THORChain, mixers, etc.
- Only a state-level diplomatic channel could pressure Pyongyang to return funds — same model as past US-DPRK negotiations.
*North Korea's response same day:*
Kim Yo Jong (Kim Jong Un's sister) via KCNA called the FBI attribution a "grave political provocation" and "absurd rhetoric," denied both Binance and Bybit hacks, and hinted the US itself might be behind it to seize crypto. No evidence offered.
