How much crypto did North Korea-linked hackers steal in 2025?

CertiK estimated North Korea-linked hacking groups stole about $2.06 billion from crypto platforms in 2025. That represented roughly 60% of the total $3.4 billion lost across the crypto sector during the year.

Why is North Korea so heavily involved in crypto theft?

According to CertiK and intelligence assessments cited in the report, North Korea uses crypto theft as a source of hard currency. Authorities believe proceeds help fund the country’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

What does CertiK mean by North Korea “industrialised” crypto theft?

CertiK said DPRK-linked hacking operations now function like organised state-backed financial systems rather than isolated cybercrime groups. The report describes crypto theft as a structured long-term revenue strategy for the regime.

Which crypto hack was the largest in the report?

The largest incident was the February 2025 Bybit exploit, which caused around $1.5 billion in losses. CertiK linked the attack to the TraderTraitor hacking cluster through a supply-chain compromise.

How did North Korean hackers move the stolen crypto?

CertiK found roughly 86% of the stolen Ethereum from the Bybit exploit was converted into Bitcoin within one month. The hackers reportedly used mixers, cross-chain bridges, decentralised exchanges and OTC brokers to obscure fund flows.

What tactics are North Korean crypto hackers using now?

The report said DPRK-linked groups are moving beyond phishing emails into more advanced infiltration tactics. These include fake job recruitment, long-term social engineering and infiltration of crypto firms under false identities.

What is “physical infiltration” in crypto hacking?

CertiK used the term to describe attackers building trusted relationships in real-world crypto communities and companies before exploiting systems. The report cited the April 2026 Drift Protocol incident as an example of this evolving strategy.

Why are North Korean crypto attacks becoming more dangerous?

Researchers said the attacks are becoming fewer in number but significantly larger in scale and sophistication. Instead of targeting random users, hackers increasingly focus on major exchanges, protocols and infrastructure providers.

North Korea tied to $2B in crypto theft

Written by Heidi Cuthbert Published May. 13 2026Last Updated May. 13 2026

CertiK said North Korea-linked hackers stole approximately $2.06 billion from crypto platforms in 2025, representing around 60% of the $3.4 billion lost across the sector during the year.

The company’s new Skynet report identified 79 incidents tied to DPRK-linked groups out of 656 documented crypto security breaches during 2025.

CertiK said North Korea has effectively “industrialised” cryptocurrency theft into a state revenue mechanism used to generate hard currency for the regime.

The report cited estimates showing DPRK-linked actors stole roughly $6.75 billion in crypto between 2016 and early 2026 across 263 documented incidents.

Researchers said North Korean hacking groups increasingly focus on fewer but significantly larger attacks targeting major pools of capital rather than opportunistic wallet compromises.

The largest incident highlighted was the February 2025 Bybit exploit, which resulted in approximately $1.5 billion in losses linked to the TraderTraitor hacking cluster through a supply-chain compromise.

CertiK’s analysis found around 86% of the stolen Ethereum from the Bybit exploit was converted into Bitcoin within one month using mixers, cross-chain bridges, decentralised exchanges and over-the-counter brokers.

The report also warned of an evolution in North Korean tactics from phishing campaigns toward what it described as “physical infiltration,” including long-term relationship building and infiltration of crypto and fintech firms under false identities.

CertiK said intelligence assessments from the United Nations and US authorities linked proceeds from the crypto theft operations to North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

At the time of reporting, Ethereum price was $2,293.19.