North Korea just had its biggest year ever stealing cryptocurrency
North Korean hackers had their biggest year yet for stealing cryptocurrency in 2025.
Cyber attackers sponsored by the rogue regime have stolen over $2.02 billion in cryptocurrency since January, according to the latest findings from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.
An early December Chainalytics report shows that North Korea-backed thieves stole 50% more crypto this year than in 2024, with total identified gains from crypto theft since 2016 reaching $6.75 billion.
The findings are the latest example of how the heavily sanctioned country is exploiting vulnerabilities in the crypto world to generate a significant source of revenue. until 2019US and UN national security officials have stated that funds stolen from these affiliated hacker groups support North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.
“The reality is that cryptocurrency creates a unique value proposition for regimes to target because of its global 24/7 reach,” said Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence at Chainaliz. he said.
According to Chainalytics, there has been $3.4 billion in thefts in the crypto industry from 2025 to early December. Much of this stemmed from a single breach in late February, when Dubai-based exchange Bybit suffered the theft of $1.5 billion at the hands of hackers affiliated with North Korea. In terms of stolen funds, this was the industry’s largest ever.
Eun Young Choi, an Arnold & Porter attorney and a former federal prosecutor with experience investigating cyberattacks, said crypto heists have become “the easiest way for North Korean cyber actors to finance their regimes.”
Read more: How to navigate the crypto meltdown?
According to Choi, hackers have not only become more sophisticated at stealing and laundering revenues, but have also benefited from the growth in value and adoption of the crypto sector; This has created more opportunities and reasons to exploit potential cyber security vulnerabilities.
Following this year’s Bybit heist, Hackers laundered stolen money Using a complex web of maneuvers, including moving assets between multiple digital wallets and blockchains, sending some of the funds through decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
Earlier this week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury and Justice Departments calling for an investigation into how North Korean hackers and other illicit actors are using decentralized finance protocols to fund the regime.
While digital asset prices have fallen in recent weeks, the industry has made a number of gains on the policy front this year as the Trump administration pushes to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world.”
