North Korea Taps Crime Networks to Launder $2.8 Billion in Stolen Crypto

North Korea has turned Russia’s war in Ukraine and a global campaign of cryptocurrency theft into major sources of hard currency, helping Pyongyang blunt the impact of international sanctions and financial isolation. Revenue from arms supplied to Russia, alongside proceeds from cyberattacks, has provided Kim Jong Un’s government with additional funding for military modernization and the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

North Korea accumulated about $22 billion in foreign-currency income between 2022 and 2025, the highest four-year total of Kim’s rule, Bloomberg reported. The proceeds came from military sales to Russia as well as cryptocurrency theft and other cyber operations targeting victims worldwide. Most of the money was directed toward upgrading the country’s armed forces and financing weapons research, according to the report.

North Korea’s central bank oversees currency issuance and state funds, while the Foreign Trade Bank handles foreign payments and currency transactions. The alleged ring included veterans of a military intelligence cyber-operations unit and IT specialists recruited from leading universities. Their suspected use of state-developed hacking expertise against two pillars of the country’s financial system marks an unusual insider breach and exposes vulnerabilities within an apparatus better known for conducting cyber theft abroad.

Daily NK reported on July 24 that North Korea’s security agency raided a Pyongyang safe house on the night of July 12, 2026, arresting alleged ringleaders and IT personnel. Investigators said the group diverted trade funds and foreign currency in small increments, sent them to overseas crypto wallets and used brokers in China to convert the assets into U.S. dollars and Chinese yuan. Authorities did not disclose the amount stolen or the number arrested, but reportedly seized computer equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

North Korea has long used state-backed hackers to steal crypto assets and evade international sanctions. The United Nations and cybersecurity researchers say the proceeds have funded nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, turning attacks on exchanges from financial crimes into global security and non-proliferation concerns.

G7 leaders adopted a statement at their June 15–17, 2026 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, reaffirming the need for joint action against North Korean crypto theft and cybercrime. Chainalysis estimates that North Korean hackers stole $2.02 billion in 2025, up 51% from a year earlier, bringing their cumulative haul to at least $6.75 billion.

North Korean hackers have long used false identities to apply for remote IT jobs, gaining access to private keys, core code and internal systems after infiltrating blockchain and AI companies. Such attacks not only lead to cryptoasset theft but also increase the risks facing multinational companies in employee screening and supply-chain security.

A Chainalysis report found that North Korean hackers stole about $2.02 billion in cryptoassets in 2025, up 51% year on year and accounting for roughly 60% of the global total stolen. CertiK put the figure at $2.06 billion. In a recent case, an interviewer exposed a North Korean operative posing as a Japanese engineer by asking the applicant to criticize Kim Jong Un.

North Korea has long used state-backed hacking groups to target cryptocurrency exchanges and related services. Blockchain security firm CertiK said the country has “industrialized” such theft, turning it into a core channel for evading international sanctions and obtaining foreign currency. The proceeds have also been used to fund its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

CertiK’s latest report showed that North Korea-linked hacking groups stole about $2.06 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, accounting for roughly 60% of global losses from crypto hacks that year. The report said North Korea has built systematic operations spanning attacks, asset transfers and money laundering, indicating that the activity has evolved from isolated crimes into a state-level revenue model.

North Korea-linked hacking groups have long targeted cryptocurrency platforms, with organizations such as Lazarus particularly adept at attacking DeFi protocols. Because stolen assets can be moved rapidly across borders, such attacks not only threaten investors and protocol security but also renew concerns about North Korea obtaining funds through digital assets.

A TRM Labs report found that North Korea-linked hackers accounted for 76% of total cryptocurrency thefts in 2026. In April, hackers stole about $577 million from DeFi protocols including Drift Protocol and Kelp DAO over 18 days. Global crypto hack losses exceeded $630 million that month, the highest since February 2025.

North Korea has long dispatched IT workers overseas to apply remotely for technology jobs using false identities, stolen data belonging to U.S. residents and “laptop farms,” then remit most of their salaries to Pyongyang. Such operations target blockchain and cryptocurrency companies and may also involve planting malware and stealing confidential information. The proceeds are alleged to fund North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

On March 12, 2026, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned six individuals and two entities, saying the network generated nearly $800 million for North Korea in 2024. A Vietnam-based operator converted about $2.5 million in cryptocurrency between mid-2023 and mid-2025. On April 15, the U.S. Justice Department separately announced that two accomplices had been sentenced to 92 and 108 months in prison for helping infiltrate more than 100 companies and generate over $5 million in revenue.

North Korea has long faced sweeping United Nations sanctions that restrict its legal exports and access to the financial system. It has consequently made cryptocurrency theft an important source of foreign currency to fund its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. SVRN Chief Operating Officer Dave Schwed said Pyongyang targets exchanges, wallets and DeFi platforms rather than treating cryptocurrency merely as a payment tool.

CoinDesk reported on April 12, 2026, that North Korean hackers had recently spent six months infiltrating Drift, using false identities and long-term relationship-building to gain critical access. In the February 21, 2025, attack on Bybit, they moved $1.5 billion in about 30 minutes. The incident underscored both the difficulty of reversing on-chain transactions and the extremely short window for blocking stolen funds.

North Korea has long used overseas IT workers posing as job applicants to infiltrate crypto projects and gain salaries, system access and digital assets. The network uncovered by blockchain investigator ZachXBT involved about 140 people, indicating that the operation had developed into a sizable, sustainable source of foreign currency that could help North Korea evade international sanctions.

As of July 19, 2026, data released by ZachXBT showed that the team earned about $1 million a month from IT jobs and crypto scams. Members used simple passwords such as “123456” to manage payment and ranking platforms. Stolen crypto was converted into fiat currency and then transferred to Chinese bank accounts.