North Korea has jumped into the ranks of top government Bitcoin holders around the world following a massive cryptocurrency theft associated with the Lazaro Hacking Group.
After successfully targeting Cryptocurrency Exchange Bybit targets, the North Korean hacker converted a significant portion of the stolen Ethereum to Bitcoin.
With this conversion, North Korea promoted El Salvador (6,117 BTC) and Bhutan (10,635 BTC) at National Bitcoin Holdings.
The country is currently ranked as the third largest government agency that holds Bitcoin globally.
Bitcoin Holdings across Government Institutions Change
The distribution of Bitcoin across government agencies has changed with the rise in North Korea.
The US maintains its dominant position at 198,109 BTC ($167.1 billion), but overall rankings have changed as the country adopts a variety of approaches to cryptocurrency.
The UK’s position as the second largest government’s Bitcoin holder comes primarily through criminal attacks.
Authorities have confiscated 61,245 BTC (approximately $5.17 billion) from various businesses.
Unlike El Salvador, which made Bitcoin the legal currency, the UK’s substantial holdings stemmed from law enforcement lawsuits.
Source: @wublockchain | x
Managed through state-owned Druk Holdings, Bhutan’s Bitcoin reserve is 10,635 BTC ($897.60 million).
The small country has quietly built its position through mining operations carried with the country’s hydroelectric resources.
Despite its pioneering position as the first country to adopt Bitcoin as its fiat currency, El Salvador is now ranked fifth with 6,117 BTC.
President Nayib Bukele’s dollar-cost average strategy for purchasing Bitcoin has gradually gained national status over time.
This situation creates a difficult situation in which authorized countries like North Korea have used illegal methods to acquire greater Bitcoin status than countries that used legitimate acquisition strategies.
North Korea’s crypto strategy reveals national security concerns
The Lazarus Group, widely recognized as operating under the direction of North Korea’s intelligence agency, has changed cryptocurrency theft into a critical funding mechanism under sanctions restrictions.
The February Bibit attack follows several patterns of operations targeted at cryptocurrency platforms.
Cybersecurity experts tracking North Korea’s operations have observed that the timing of the Buy-Bit Hack just days before President Trump teases the US strategic Bitcoin reserve could be a sign of recognition of global Bitcoin acquisition trends among nation-states.
The geopolitical outcomes of North Korea’s Bitcoin Holdings could extend beyond mere economic benefits.
It could provide the administration with an increased resilience to international pressure.
Bibit Hack Recovery Efforts are underway
BYBIT has announced a massive $140 million bounty program to recover stolen funds on February 21, 2025.
The initiative, called “Lazarusbounty,” offers rewards to individuals who help freeze and recover stolen assets.
Real-time tracking shows that nearly 89% of the total thefts of $1.4 billion are being monitored.
According to the Lazarusbounty Dashboard, only $2,233,947 has been awarded prizes to 13 bounty hunters so far.
Source: Lazarus Bounty
The program structure provides 10% of the recovered funds as rewards, with 5% being provided to entities that successfully freeze funds.
An additional 5% will be allocated to the first reporter who helped track the funds that lead to the freeze.
The dashboard reveals the current status of the stolen assets. 88.97% ($1,124,623,715) is being tracked.
7.50% ($94,837,426) awaits response from the exchange or authorities, with just 3.52% ($44,534,307) being successfully frozen.
The hack itself was one of the biggest cryptocurrency thefts in history.
The revenues are effectively boosting North Korea’s financial reserves when the country faces strict international sanctions.
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