Bybit Sues North Korea for $1.5 Billion Ethereum Hack

Bybit has filed a lawsuit against North Korea and its hacking unit, Lazarus Group, in a U.S. federal court over last year's record-breaking $1.5 billion Ethereum hack on February 21, 2025.

The company claims that the hackers compromised a developer's computer at Safe{Wallet}, a multi-signature protocol used by Bybit, and inserted malicious code that altered the underlying transaction when a specific wallet address appeared.

Bybit has recovered $48.4 million so far, but over 90% of the stolen assets remain untraceable, converted into Bitcoin and spread across thousands of wallets using mixers, cross-chain bridges, and unregulated trading platforms.

The lawsuit invokes the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) along with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Alien Tort Statute, seeking the return of its stolen funds, roughly $1.5 billion in damages, and additional punitive damages.