North Korea · South Korea · Decrypt
Bybit Sues North Korea Over $1.5 billion Hack, Locks in Order Freezing Assets
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Crypto exchange Bybit has filed a civil lawsuit against North Korea over the theft of $1.5 billion from the exchange in February 2025, and secured a court order freezing stolen assets that investigators have identified.
Key facts
- Bybit said that around $48.4 million has been recovered and about $30.5 million frozen across more than 28 exchanges and custodians, together amounting to approximately 5% of what was taken
- By April, Zhou said some 69% of the proceeds remained traceable, 28% had gone dark and 4% had been frozen, with most of the stolen Ethereum converted to Bitcoin via Thorchain and pushed
- Crypto exchange Bybit has filed a civil lawsuit against North Korea over the theft of $1.5 billion from the exchange in February 2025, and secured a court order freezing stolen assets
- Attackers drained roughly 500,000 ETH from a Bybit cold wallet in February 2025, after manipulating a signing interface that showed approvers the correct destination address while altering
Summary
Bybit has sued North Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau and the Lazarus Group in U.S. federal court over the $1.5 billion theft from the exchange in February 2025. A judge granted a preliminary injunction freezing identified stolen assets and found Bybit likely to succeed on the merits, according to the exchange. Some $48 million has been recovered and $31 million frozen across more than 28 exchanges and custodians. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau and the Lazarus Group, the state-linked hacking outfit U.S. authorities blame for the attack.