The U.S. Blames North Korea for $1.5 Billion Cryptocurrency Theft

The FBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States, has identified North Korea as responsible for the theft of $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency that occurred last week. Media outlets have described this incident as the 'largest theft' in the history of this financial phenomenon. Bybit, a Dubai-based digital exchange, reported last week that 400,000 Ethereum cryptocurrency was stolen from its platform. According to the company, hackers were able to intervene in the middle of a transaction and transfer the cryptocurrencies to an anonymous address. Now, the FBI, in a statement released on Wednesday, March 8, has pointed the finger at hackers associated with the North Korean government, stating that Pyongyang is 'responsible' for this digital theft. Washington has long accused North Korea of extensive cyberattacks aimed at funding its nuclear activities and missile programs, accusations that North Korea has denied. According to the FBI, a group called TraderTraitor or the 'Lazarus Group' is responsible for the theft of these Ethereum. Lazarus is the same group that was accused of hacking Sony Pictures a decade ago. At that time, the U.S. stated that North Korea orchestrated the cyberattack on Sony in response to the comedy film 'The Interview,' which starred Seth Rogen and James Franco and centered around the assassination of the North Korean leader. The FBI's statement noted that this group 'quickly' converted the stolen Ethereum into Bitcoin and other digital assets, hiding them in 'thousands of anonymous online addresses.' In July of this year, a cryptocurrency security research institute reported that the amount of stolen cryptocurrency in the first half of 2024 had doubled compared to the previous year, reaching approximately $1.4 billion. With this new theft, North Korean hackers have made more than half of last year's earnings in the first two months of 2025.