New Report Reveals the Alarming Reach of North Korea’s Crypto Hackers
North Korea-linked hackers stole $2.83 billion in virtual assets between 2024 and September 2025, funding a third of the nation's foreign income.Summary
A report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), a coalition of 11 nations, reveals that North Korea-linked hackers stole a staggering $2.83 billion in virtual assets between 2024 and September 2025. This stolen amount constituted approximately one-third of North Korea's total foreign currency income for 2024. The theft accelerated significantly, with $1.64 billion stolen in 2025 alone. A major contributor was the February 2025 hack of the Bybit exchange, attributed to the sophisticated TraderTraitor syndicate, which often targets third-party service providers via phishing and malicious code. The MSMT detailed a nine-step laundering mechanism used to convert stolen assets into fiat currency, involving DEX swaps, mixing services like Tornado Cash, bridge conversions, and finally utilizing Over-the-Counter (OTC) brokers.
The most difficult step, cashing out, relies on a global network involving financial entities in China, Russia, and Cambodia. Specific Chinese nationals were implicated in providing fraudulent IDs to facilitate laundering, and Russian intermediaries helped liquidate funds from the Bybit hack. Furthermore, Huione Pay, a Cambodian financial service provider, was used for cashing out, leading the National Bank of Cambodia to refuse license renewal, though the company reportedly continues operating.
(Source：BeInCrypto)