Most Influential: The Lazarus Group

Policy Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Most Influential: The Lazarus Group The crypto industry’s most notorious hackers continue to break records, highlighting the importance of taking every step possible to secure wallets. By Nikhilesh De | Edited by Cheyenne Ligon Dec 10, 2025, 3:00 p.m. Crypto’s most notorious hackers, the Lazarus Group, holds more bitcoin BTC $ 91,817.11 than Tesla — funds it stole, rather than bought. And despite efforts to tamp down on their exploits, the group continues to target legitimate exchanges and find esoteric vulnerabilities it can use to continue building the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) weapons of mass destruction program . The North Korean hacking group stole $1.3 billion in cryptocurrencies in 2024. By mid-2025, it had already stolen north of $2 billion, and was on track to break its record for total funds stolen. Beyond the thefts themselves, Lazarus has taken advantage of privacy tools like mixers to launder its funds and limit recoveries by governments or its victims. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Part of the crypto movement’s appeal is the relatively easy transfer of funds, which governments cannot interfere with — but as with any other tool, this means that whatever advantages law-abiding users gain also work for malicious actors. Lazarus’ growing sophistication in targeting exchanges and other platforms, alongside the sheer difficulty the crypto industry has traditionally had in securing every last vulnerability, means that this U.S. government-sanctioned group has continued to enjoy high-profile hacks. In 2025 alone, Lazarus has been tied to the $1.5 billion hack of Bybit in February and the $36 million hack of Upbit in November, two of the higher-profile hacks this year. Beyond the growing sophistication of its hacks — the Bybit hack, for example, saw Lazarus compromise a developer machine to manipulate a multisignature security solution’s user interface to essentially trick a user — Lazarus continues to take advantage of crypto-native tools to move its funds. The group has in the past used mixers like Tornado Cash to move its funds and make it more difficult for governments or investigators to trace. THORChain became a key tool for Lazarus in laundering the funds stolen from Bybit. Lazarus’ actions have drawn government attention in the past. The U.S. government briefly sanctioned Tornado Cash and secured a conviction against one of its developers, and had previously recovered other funds stolen by Lazarus. The more recent hacks continue to draw international attention, marking yet another reason the crypto industry needs to take these types of security concerns seriously. North Korea Lazarus group CoinDesk Most Influential 2025 More For You Protocol Research: GoPlus Security By CoinDesk Research Nov 14, 2025 Commissioned by GoPlus What to know : As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M. GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month. Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B. View Full Report More For You Teacher’s Union Says U.S. Senate Crypto Bill Puts Pensions and Economy at Risk: CNBC By Olivier Acuna | Edited by Oliver Knight 23 minutes ago The AFT said the bill is “irresponsible” and “reckless,” putting pensions of working families at risk and paving the way for the next financial crisis. What to know : The American Federation of Teachers has urged the Senate to reconsider a crypto bill, citing risks to 1.8 million members' pensions and insufficient measures against fraud. The Responsible Financial Innovation Act, co-sponsored by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno, aims to oversee digital assets but raises concerns about tokenized securities. The AFL-CIO and the Institute of Internal Auditors have also expressed opposition, highlighting the bill's failure to protect consumers and ensure sound governance in crypto exchanges. 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