Bybit Sues North Korea Over $1.5 Billion Cryptocurrency Heist

The cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has initiated legal proceedings in US federal court against North Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau, and the Lazarus hacking collective following a massive security breach on February 21, 2025.

The hackers stole approximately $1.5 billion worth of Ether tokens from the exchange's Safe Wallet cloud computing systems, using authentication credentials stolen from a Safe platform developer.

Bybit has secured expedited discovery rights from a federal judge, enabling the platform to track the remaining 9.8% of the stolen cryptocurrency across US-registered services.

The preliminary injunction issued by the court blocks unnamed respondents from moving any identifiable stolen digital assets, and approximately $75.5 million, or 5.3% of the total stolen funds, has been successfully frozen or retrieved.