Bitget Hack Linked to North Korea, Pushes DPRK-Attributed Crypto Theft Above $1B
A $357 million hack of Bitget has been linked to North Korea-linked hackers, pushing DPRK-attributed digital asset theft above $1 billion this year.
Elliptic, a blockchain analytics firm, found similarities in the movement and laundering of stolen assets with previous incidents attributed to North Korean groups. The company identified on-chain connections to addresses associated with earlier attacks, including the $1.5 billion Bybit attack in 2025.
Elliptic has tracked more than 50 security incidents associated with North Korea during 2026, representing around $1.2 billion in stolen digital assets. The Bitget breach pushed its total estimate for DPRK-linked crypto theft this year past $1 billion.
Crypto exchanges remain attractive targets because large amounts of digital assets sit in connected wallet infrastructure and stolen funds move quickly between networks.