Crypto▼ Bearish
Bybit sues North Korea, Lazarus Group over $1.5B hack, freezes assets
The exchange won a preliminary injunction to freeze stolen assets held by unidentified parties. The lawsuit aims to recover funds and hold North Korea accountable. The case could set a precedent for crypto exchange recovery efforts.
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Bybit, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, has filed a civil lawsuit against North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau and the Lazarus Group, the state-sponsored hacking group that stole $1.5 billion from the exchange last year. The exchange also won a preliminary injunction freezing certain stolen assets, Bybit said in a press release Friday.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It names the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a defendant alongside its intelligence agency and the hacking group. The preliminary injunction prevents unidentified individuals and entities, named as John Doe defendants, from transferring or selling the assets while the case is ongoing, Bybit said.
On Feb. 21, 2025, the Lazarus Group executed the largest cryptocurrency heist in history, stealing about 400,000 ETH and stETH from the Dubai-based exchange. The hack accounted for a large share of the $2.02 billion in crypto stolen by North Korea last year, according to data from Chainalysis. North Korean hackers have stolen $6.75 billion worth of crypto in total, the firm said. The country is widely believed to use the proceeds to fund its weapons program.