THORChain Co-founder Responds to FBI Intercept Request: Node Operators Can Cooperate With Investigations Without a Subpoena

Driven by the ongoing artificial intelligence boom, South Korea’s exports continued to post strong growth in October, further boosting the export momentum of its trade-reliant economy. Data released Sunday by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy shows that, adjusted for working-day differences, October’s exports rose 76.1% year-on-year to $115.3 billion, below the previous month’s record of $121.1 billion. Unadjusted figures show October exports jumped 93.7% year-on-year, imports rose 36%, resulting in a trade surplus of $42.5 billion. South Korea’s revised year-on-year export growth for September was 83.7%. The sustained strong exports have further reinforced market expectations that the Bank of Korea will raise interest rates this month. Semiconductors remain the main driver of export growth: in October, South Korea’s chip exports surged 259% year-on-year to $56.4 billion, computer exports rose 497%, while petroleum products and auto exports increased 80% and 18% respectively. (Jinshi)

Binance has released its latest progress update, stating that it has covered the $6 billion loss caused by the recent security incident. Earlier reports noted that approximately $6.3 billion in funds were impacted by Binance's security incident.

According to HTX market data, Ethereum’s rebound sentiment was stronger than Bitcoin’s over the past 24 hours. The ETH/BTC exchange rate rose 0.79% to 0.02921. Ethereum is currently trading at $2,273, with a 24-hour gain of 1.28%; Bitcoin is at $77,816, up 0.51% in the same period. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has rebounded to $2.705 trillion, with a 24-hour increase of 0.2%, and 24-hour trading volume stands at $682.063 billion.

SOON Foundation announced that abnormal withdrawal activities were detected on two cross-chain bridges—svmBNB and SOON Mainnet—at approximately 11:00 UTC on October 31, 2026. The foundation identified the anomaly at 14:00 UTC the same day and immediately shut down the affected bridge services. Officials noted that the cross-chain bridges have now been secured, and an in-depth investigation is underway. Until the probe is completed, both bridges will remain suspended, with additional updates to be released as the investigation progresses. The announcement has not yet disclosed the scale of assets involved in the abnormal withdrawals or specific losses.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated publicly recently that he gets along well with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, emphasizing that maintaining good relations with nuclear-armed countries is a wise move. This approach aligns with his summit diplomacy toward North Korea during his first term and matches his current second-term preference for keeping communication channels open with leaders of nuclear-armed states. Trump responded to the Binance hack incident today, noting it is currently unclear whether the attack on Binance was carried out by North Korea. If a link to North Korea is ultimately confirmed, the U.S. will engage with Pyongyang. However, the FBI previously issued a statement formally attributing the October 29, 2026 Binance security breach to North Korea, with the virtual assets involved valued at over $60 billion. The FBI has named this North Korean malicious cyber operation "TraderTraitor". If the U.S. pursues negotiations, possible steps include using third parties, intelligence channels, or public pressure to demand the freezing or return of the assets. Trump’s past approach to North Korea has leaned toward "direct communication + personal relations"—whether this will hold in this case remains to be seen. Binance’s connections to Trump family-related businesses (such as stablecoins) may also lead the White House to pay closer attention to the case. Meanwhile, the outlook for a formal U.S.-North Korea summit remains uncertain: Trump previously expressed a desire to meet within the year, but that has cooled recently, and North Korea has not responded actively. If the FBI’s attribution is confirmed and the stolen funds are used for nuclear weapons or missile programs (the U.S. has long accused North Korean hackers of funding its weapons programs), this could become a new issue or friction point in U.S.-North Korea communications.

Chainalysis stated in a recent publication that THORChain’s operations were disrupted by an Ethereum chain reorganization incident, which delayed the money laundering process for stolen funds from the Binance hack. The chain reorganization led THORChain to incorrectly issue duplicate refunds to a user who had deposited 10 ETH, triggering an emergency protocol pause that temporarily blocked all cross-chain swaps for all users—including money launderers associated with the North Korean hacking group. Chainalysis noted that prior to THORChain’s service resumption, attackers and other users were unable to perform swaps via most of its cross-chain bridges. Earlier, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Secret Service (USSS), and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) jointly called on THORNode operators, RPC node operators, instant swap platforms, DeFi service providers, and other virtual asset service providers to block transactions with addresses linked to the Binance hack, as well as fund flows originating from these addresses. The announcement also disclosed wallet addresses directly or closely tied to the relevant North Korean hacking activities.