Lazarus Group Siphons $30M Through Hyperliquid Amid US Expansion Push

Lazarus Group-linked wallets have moved over $30 million through Hyperliquid's HyperUnit in recent weeks, sparking major concerns about money laundering and security. This comes as Hyperliquid pushes to access the US market via Bitnomial and CFTC engagement.

The transactions, revealed by Arkham researcher Emmett Gallic on August 31, saw Lazarus-affiliated wallets swap BTC for ETH and Solana before routing funds to centralized exchanges like KuCoin, LBank, and Kraken. This raises suspicions about Hyperliquid's compliance with US sanctions against the North Korea-based group.

Hyperliquid has been working towards accessing the US market under a regulatory framework, with President Donald Trump backing CFTC Chairman Michael Selig's efforts to bring the platform on board. However, regulatory clearance is still pending, creating downside risk for the HYPE token and broader crypto market trust.