On Thursday, the infamous Lazarus Group, a cybercrime unit linked to North Korea, transferred approximately 61 BTC from its digital reserves. This activity leaves the collective with 13,441 BTC, equivalent to $1.15 billion, solidifying its position as a dominant force in state-backed cryptocurrency holdings.
North Korea’s Crypto Reserves Shift as Lazarus Group Adjusts Holdings
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Lazarus Adjusts Stockpile, Retains North Korea’s Third-Place Government Ranking
Four days prior, Bitcoin.com News highlighted North Korea’s status as the third-largest governmental holder of bitcoin ( BTC), trailing only the U.S. and U.K. Even after these transactions, Pyongyang retains this ranking.
Insights from Arkham Intelligence and mempool.space reveal the hackers shifted 61.779 BTC to unflagged wallets, further obscuring their financial trail. The relocated assets, worth $5.2 million at today’s BTC prices, reflect a strategic reduction of 121 BTC ($10.3 million) from the group’s reserves.
This follows Bybit CEO Ben Zhou’s recent disclosure that stolen Ethereum ( ETH) funds were converted into BTC, with 12,836 BTC distributed across 9,117 unique wallets. Beyond its bitcoin stockpile, Lazarus maintains 13,658 ETH ($27.26 million), 5,022 BNB ($3.15 million), and stablecoins including 706,400 DAI and 640,000 BUSD.
The group also holds 426,730 USDT and 344,700 USDC, though portions may be frozen by issuers Tether and Circle. Notably, its portfolio includes 218 trillion BABYDOGE ($292,800) and 110.503 STETH ($220,350). While the total cache stands at $1.18 billion, bitcoin dominates, accounting for $1.15 billion of its value.
