North Korea's Stolen Crypto Stuck in Court-Ordered Freeze
Bybit, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has secured a preliminary injunction against North Korea and its associated hacking groups, Lazarus Group and Reconnaissance General Bureau. The court order blocks unnamed defendants from moving or selling stolen crypto, valued at $1.5 billion.
The hack occurred on February 21, 2025, with over $1 billion of the funds laundered before a six-month mark. Despite early efforts by Bybit and other exchanges to freeze assets, the majority of the stolen funds remain lost to their rightful owners.
A recent review by Elliptic found that Lazarus-linked groups moved stolen funds through exchanges, bridges, mixers, and laundering services within 45 days after the hack. Industry partners initially froze $42.9 million in the first days following the theft, with Bybit's mETH Protocol recovering an additional $43 million.