Lazarus Group hackers became one of the largest BTC holders in the world

North Korea, with the help of the Lazarus Group hacker group, has become one of the largest holders of bitcoin BTC $81,924.50 Bitcoin 1.00% Market capitalization $1.63 trillion VOL. 24 hours $3.01 billion in the world. As of today, the hackers own approximately 13,518 BTC, which is equivalent to $ 1.16 billion. This is twice the amount held by El Salvador, a country that has officially recognized bitcoin as its national currency.

Over the past month, the Lazarus Group’s bitcoin holdings have increased after a large-scale hack of the Bybit cryptocurrency exchange, where they stole $ 1.4 billion in ethereum ETH $1,560.06 Bridged Ether (StarkGate) -0.33% Market capitalization $0.14 billion VOL. 24 hours $1.27 billion . By February 22, the group had only 778 BTC on their accounts, but by March 4, this amount had grown to almost 14,000 BTC. This indicates that the stolen funds were laundered through bitcoin.

The Lazarus Group is one of the most difficult cybercrime groups to investigate, operating under the auspices of the DPRK government. U.S. intelligence agencies, including the FBI, have repeatedly warned of the threats posed by this group, especially with regard to their attacks on major cryptocurrency funds and exchanges.

The US government also claims that the stolen funds are used to finance North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Thus, cybercrime is becoming one of the key sources of funding for Kim Jong-un's sanctioned regime.