Bitget Hack Adds to North Korea's $1 Billion Crypto Heist
North Korean hackers have stolen over $1 billion in cryptocurrency this year alone, according to Chainalysis. The latest attack occurred on Bitget, where $387 million was taken in a single exploit. This brings the total amount of crypto stolen by DPRK-linked actors in 2026 above $1 billion.
The attackers used sophisticated automation to move and obscure the funds, making it increasingly difficult for investigators to track their movements. To combat this, Chainalysis built custom automations with its in-house AI to speed up cross-chain tracing, which was able to reduce manual bridge reconciliation from over 20 hours to under 10 minutes.
The stolen XRP was converted into Bitcoin without being sent to an exchange. Instead, it was deposited into a cross-chain liquidity protocol and then withdrawn as Bitcoin on another network. This highlights the evolving tactics of North Korean hackers, who are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their methods.