North Korea’s Lazarus Group Linked to Record $1.5 Billion Bybit Hack
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence has identified North Korea’s Lazarus Group as the culprit behind the $1.5 billion Bybit hack, citing analysis from well-known crypto investigator ZachXBT.
”At 19:09 UTC today, ZachXBT submitted definitive proof that this attack on Bybit was performed by the Lazarus Group,” Arkham stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The submission reportedly included forensic graphs, wallet connections, and transaction timing analyses linking Lazarus to the exploit. This information has been shared with Bybit to support its ongoing investigation.
Bybit confirmed earlier on Friday that it had suffered a massive security breach, marking one of the largest crypto thefts in history. Despite the loss, CEO Ben Zhou assured users that all client withdrawals will be processed, even as some remain under review.
In response to the attack, Arkham Intelligence quickly offered a 50,000 ARKM bounty (worth approximately $32,000) to anyone who could trace the hackers.
The Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored cybercrime unit linked to North Korea, has been responsible for several high-profile crypto thefts. Last year, ZachXBT reported that $35 million stolen from DMM Bitcoin, Japan’s largest exchange, had been laundered through Huione Guarantee—a tactic resembling the Bybit exploit. The DMM Bitcoin hack resulted in a loss of over 4,500 BTC ($300 million at the time), making it the biggest crypto heist of 2024.
As Bybit scrambles to contain the fallout, Zhou revealed in a livestream that the company is actively seeking a bridge loan to stabilize operations. ”We are currently reaching out to our partners,” he said. ”Right now, we are not buying Ethereum, and even if we wanted to, it’s too large of an amount to move.”
The Bybit hack now ranks as the largest single crypto theft to date, further underscoring the growing threat of state-backed cyberattacks on digital asset platforms.
Featured image from: cointelegraph.com