North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group just pulled off the biggest crypto heist in history, swiping a staggering 401,347 ETH ($1.4 billion) from Bybit’s Ethereum cold wallet. The brazen attack on February 21, 2025, exploited a smart contract vulnerability during what should have been a routine transfer. Talk about turning a regular Tuesday into a nightmare.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT first connected the dots to Lazarus Group, with Arkham Intelligence backing up the findings and dangling a $50,000 reward for additional intel. The FBI quickly jumped in to confirm what crypto experts already knew – those pesky North Korean hackers were at it again. The group’s previous success with the Web3 ecosystem includes stealing $1.9 billion between 2021 and 2023.
This isn’t Lazarus Group’s first rodeo. These state-sponsored cybercriminals have been wreaking havoc for nearly two decades. Remember the Sony Pictures disaster in 2014? That was them. The $81 million Bangladesh Bank heist in 2016? Also them. They’ve got quite the resume of cryptocurrency attacks too – from the $620 million Ronin Network theft to the Harmony Horizon Bridge’s $100 million disappearing act. The group operates under direct control of the Reconnaissance General Bureau of North Korea.
From Hollywood hacks to billion-dollar heists, Lazarus Group’s two-decade crime spree proves they’re the ultimate digital bank robbers.
The group’s methodology was characteristically sophisticated. They disguised malicious transactions as legitimate ones, modified smart contract rules, and threw in some social engineering for good measure. Classic Lazarus moves. The hackers specifically targeted smart contracts that lacked proper security audits, a common vulnerability in DeFi protocols.
But here’s where it gets interesting – their money laundering game is evolving. They’re using fancy mixer services like Sinbad.io, pulling off cross-chain transfers, and bouncing funds through DeFi platforms like they’re playing crypto pinball.
Bybit’s CEO rushed to assure customers their funds are safe, promising 1:1 backing. But let’s be real – this attack exposed some serious holes in cold wallet security systems. It’s a wake-up call for the entire crypto industry.
Who would’ve thought that the world’s biggest crypto heist would come from a country where most citizens can’t even access the internet? The irony isn’t lost on anyone. State-sponsored hacking has officially entered the crypto big leagues, and this time, they’ve set a new record.
