CumberlandThe group allegedly breached Central Bank systems, converted crypto to cash via Chinese brokers, and used small transfers to evade detection.
North Korea arrests hackers accused of laundering stolen funds from country's bank via crypto
The group allegedly breached Central Bank systems, converted crypto to cash via Chinese brokers, and used small transfers to evade detection.
North Korean authorities arrested former military hackers for stealing funds from two state banks and laundering the money through cryptocurrency. The group allegedly breached Central Bank systems, converted crypto to cash via Chinese brokers, and used small transfers to evade detection. North Korean hackers remain major players in global crypto exploits, accounting for a significant majority of hack and scam losses through early 2026.
North Korean authorities arrested former military hackers accused of stealing state funds from two banks and laundering the proceeds through cryptocurrency.
The group, according to a Daily NK report citing an anonymous source in Pyongyang, allegedly breached the internal systems of the Central Bank of the DPRK and Foreign Trade Bank, diverted foreign currency and state trade funds, and moved the money into overseas crypto wallets.
The report could not be independently verified.
Chinese brokers then converted the assets into U.S. dollars and yuan, Daily NK said. Contacts in the border cities of Sinuiju and Hyesan allegedly exchanged the crypto for cash in real time, with the group splitting transfers into small amounts to avoid detection and using encrypted messaging apps, unregistered phones and Chinese wireless equipment.
North Korea’s National Intelligence Agency arrested the suspects at a Pyongyang safe house on July 12 after officials detected discrepancies in foreign-currency payment approvals and suspicious overseas IP activity, according to the report.
The laundering route mirrors methods used by North Korean hacking groups to cash out stolen crypto.
A multinational sanctions-monitoring report said Chinese over-the-counter traders and financial institutions play a central role in converting crypto stolen by Pyongyang-linked operators into fiat.
North Korean hackers stole a record $2 billion in crypto last year, according to Chainalysis. TRM Labs estimated they accounted for 76% of crypto hack and scam losses through April 202
1Democratizing weather derivatives through tokenization could be crypto's most important real-world use case3 hours ago 2Robinhood Chain's real-world assets jump fivefold as tokenized stocks start trading in bigger size6 hours ago 3Senate Dems should accept the victory they won on Trump's crypto limits: White HouseJul 24, 2026 4Sam Altman-backed World Network secures $52.5 million in fresh funding to fight online AI deepfakesJul 24, 2026 5Institutional crypto trading platform LMAX is exploring sale, IPOJul 24, 2026 6Saylor and team overhaul Strategy's bitcoin metrics as bear market persistsJul 24, 2026 7Brazilian farmers tokenized dairy cows to get loans, bypassing bank lending limitsJul 24, 2026 8EU hits Russia with massive 21st sanctions package targeting $120B crypto networkJul 24, 2026 9Crypto market maker B2C2 held sale talks with multiple potential buyersJul 24, 2026 10Crypto's institutional influx has killed the memecoin crazeJul 24, 2026
Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation
Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation
Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows.
Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows.
Why it matters:
Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows.
Robinhood Chain's real-world assets jump fivefold as tokenized stocks start trading in bigger size
Sam Altman-backed World Network secures $52.5 million in fresh funding to fight online AI deepfakes
Institutional crypto trading platform LMAX is exploring sale, IPO