North Korea Behind the Most Devastating Crypto Theft in History

Lazarus Group Tied to Record-Breaking $1.5B Bybit Hack, Investigators Confirm

Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence has attributed the $1.5 billion Bybit hack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, citing an investigation led by on-chain analyst ZachXBT.

Arkham had previously offered a 50,000 ARKM token bounty for information on the attackers, later revealing that ZachXBT provided irrefutable blockchain evidence linking the exploit to Lazarus.
Largest Crypto Theft in History

Elliptic’s co-founder Tom Robinson described the attack as “the biggest crypto theft of all time, by a significant margin”, surpassing the $611 million Poly Network breach of 2021.

Blockchain intelligence firm Nansen reported that the stolen funds were initially consolidated in a single wallet before being distributed across more than 40 addresses in increments of approximately $27 million per transaction.
Hack Exploited ‘Blind Signing’ Weakness

According to cybersecurity firm Blockaid, the attack stemmed from a “Blind Signing” exploit, a technique where hackers trick victims into approving unauthorized transactions without full visibility into the contract details.

“This attack vector is increasingly being used by North Korean-affiliated groups,” said Blockaid CEO Ido Ben Natan. “It’s the same method seen in past breaches, such as the WazirX and Radiant Capital incidents.”
Bybit CEO Confirms Breach, Assures User Funds Are Safe

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou acknowledged the attack, confirming that a hacker gained control of an ETH cold wallet, transferring out its entire balance. However, he reassured users that Bybit remains solvent and capable of absorbing the loss.

With state-sponsored cybercrime on the rise, this attack underscores the growing need for stronger exchange security protocols and proactive threat detection to safeguard digital assets.