Media: North Korea is among the top three largest holders of Bitcoin, thanks to its hackers

In February, the largest crypto exchange Bybit was subjected to a hacker attack, behind which, as analysts assume, is the North Korean cybercrime organisation Lazarus Group, which managed to change the logic of the smart contract and withdraw cryptocurrency worth $1.46 billion from the cold wallet, which was previously considered impossible.

Here's What We Know

It's no secret that the DPRK government not only sponsors but also supervises hacker groups. As a result of systematic, carefully planned and devious actions, North Korea has become the third largest holder of Bitcoin in the world, behind only the US and the UK.

The Times reports that Arkham Intelligence analysts have calculated that the Lazarus Group alone holds 13,521 Bitcoins (~$1.6bn), while it is not the only such group in the DPRK. By comparison, the US has about 200,000 BTC in its possession, and the UK has about 61,000 BTC. Previously, the third place was occupied by the small state of El Salvador with reserves of about 6.2 thousand BTC.

Recall, Bybit is still looking for criminals and if you have information - you have the opportunity to get a reward of $140 million for it.

Source: The Times