North Korean Hackers Laundered Over $3 Billion in Crypto
North Korean cyber groups, including the notorious Lazarus Group, have laundered over $3 billion in cryptocurrency through a complex network of wallets, mixers and decentralized platforms over the past seven years. Analysts say these operations demonstrate state-level coordination and professional automation on the blockchain front.
Four Stages of the Scheme
Fragmentation through “trash” wallets. Funds are split into hundreds or thousands of small transactions to hide their trail and defeat clustering analysis.
Mixers and coin-join services. These tools blend stolen coins with legitimate ones, breaking transaction links and masking ownership.
Conversion into stablecoins via DEXs. After mixing, funds are swapped for USDT or USDC through decentralized exchanges without KYC, leveraging cross-chain bridges for speed and anonymity.
Final laundering on anonymous gambling platforms. Here cryptocurrency is converted into gaming credits or fiat through unregulated casinos and darknet sites.Why It Matters
Such operations show how state-linked actors evade sanctions and finance strategic projects using digital assets. Experts warn that North Korean laundering networks are becoming more sophisticated — using DeFi infrastructure, AI-driven automation and multi-chain techniques to confuse forensics.Industry Response
Blockchain forensics companies are developing new heuristics to spot fragmentation and multi-hop patterns. Regulators tighten rules for mixers and high-risk exchanges. Analysts at Chainalysis note that many of Lazarus’s transactions now pass through decentralized liquidity pools — making traditional sanctions less effective without global coordination.The Bigger Picture
The case marks a new era of financial cyber operations where blockchain anonymity meets state interests. While defenders tighten controls, hackers adapt and iterate. The $3 billion figure may represent only the visible part of a much larger multi-chain network running for years with high-level automation.Editorial Team — CoinBotLab