North Korean hackers set a new anti-record in 2025, stealing $2 billion in cryptocurrency. According to a report by analytics firm Chainalysis Inc., this figure shows a sharp increase compared to last year and accounts for the lion's share of all global crypto thefts, the total volume of which has reached $3.4 billion since the beginning of the year. This is reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.
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The key factor in this jump was the largest digital robbery of the Bybit crypto exchange in history in February, during which attackers appropriated $1.5 billion.
Analysts note that despite a smaller number of individual attacks, their effectiveness has increased due to new tactics: Pyongyang is massively deploying its IT specialists to crypto services to gain privileged access to systems. The country's total assets obtained illegally are currently estimated at at least $6.75 billion.
Funding the nuclear program
To launder funds, hackers use complex schemes for structuring payments in small tranches, which allows them to avoid financial monitoring systems. The resources obtained are critical for the survival of the North Korean regime.
Cryptocurrency theft has become a lucrative funding mechanism for North Korea. As a result, the proceeds from these hacking attacks support the regime and its weapons of mass destruction program.
North Korea is currently officially recognized as the biggest threat to cryptocurrency security at the state level. The latest high-profile incident was the theft of $30 million from the South Korean exchange Upbit, which, according to media reports, was carried out by the Pyongyang-controlled Lazarus group.