North Korean Hackers Have Stolen $2 Billion in Cryptocurrency in 2025

North Korean threat actors are estimated to have stolen more than $2 billion in cryptocurrency during the first nine months of 2025, according to Elliptic. This year’s total is a record, with the cumulative value of stolen assets surpassing $6 billion to date. The pace has been driven largely by a $1.46 billion wave of crypto assets stolen from the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, and Elliptic notes that North Korean hackers have been responsible for at least 33 other crypto heists this year.

Elliptic also cautions that attributing cyber thefts to North Korea is not an exact science, given difficulties in attribution and unreported incidents. In 2025, most attacks were conducted through social engineering rather than vulnerabilities in crypto infrastructure, with the hackers mainly targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and high-net-worth individuals.

Elliptic highlights that North Korea is increasingly using complex laundering techniques, including multiple rounds of mixing, cross-chain transactions, and the use of obscure blockchains to hinder analysis.