North Korea’s state-sponsored hacking group, Lazarus, has once again come under scrutiny after moving over $3.76 million worth of Bitcoin across multiple wallets. The mass transfers, detected on March 20, have sparked concerns that the group is attempting to launder stolen funds following its $1.4 billion hack of crypto exchange Bybit.
The transactions highlight Lazarus Group’s continued reliance on crypto heists to finance North Korea’s operations, with authorities struggling to track and recover stolen assets. Analysts suggest that the group is using mixers and complex blockchain routing techniques to make funds harder to trace, further complicating efforts to curb illicit activities in the crypto space.
Mass Bitcoin Transfers Detected
According to on-chain data from Arkham Intelligence, Lazarus Group’s wallet conducted several transactions on March 20 at around 9:18 AM UTC. The movements included:
- 12.929 BTC ($1.12 million) sent to an unknown address
- 0.308 BTC transferred to two different addresses
- 14.849 BTC sent to another wallet
- 15.684 BTC moved to another wallet
In total, 44.07 BTC (~$3.76 million) was distributed across five different addresses, reinforcing suspicions of fund laundering.
Lazarus Group’s Remaining Crypto Holdings
Despite these transactions, the hacker group still holds approximately 13,441 BTC (~$1.15 billion). Other notable holdings include:
- 13,658 ETH (~$27 million)
- $3.17 million in BNB
- $706,400 in DAI
- $288,870 in BABYDOGE
- Additional stablecoins in BUSD, USDT, and USDC
Bitcoin remains the largest portion of the group’s portfolio, amassed through years of cyberattacks and crypto-related crimes.
Bybit Hack and Stolen Funds Still Traceable
Lazarus Group’s latest movements come in the wake of the $1.4 billion hack on Bybit, one of the largest exchange breaches in history. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou recently confirmed that 88.87% of the stolen funds remain traceable, with 86.29% of the assets (~12,836 BTC, worth $1.23 billion) spread across 9,117 wallets.
Zhou believes the hackers are using Bitcoin mixers to scramble transaction history, making it more difficult for authorities to track and freeze stolen assets.
Lazarus Group’s History of Crypto Crimes
The Lazarus Group, active since 2009, has been linked to multiple high-profile cybercrimes, including the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack and numerous crypto exchange hacks. The group is believed to be a key financial arm of North Korea, using cyber thefts to fund the country’s regime amid international sanctions.
The continued movements of stolen crypto assets pose a major challenge for regulators and blockchain security firms, as North Korea’s cyber army remains a persistent threat to the global digital economy.
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