North Korea stole a record amount of crypto—again: report estimates  its hackers’ 2025 haul at $2 billion

A massive amount of crypto was robbed this year, and most of it went to North Korea. The country accounted for roughly 59% of the more than $3.4 billion in stolen crypto, according to Chainalysis’ 2026 Crypto Crime Report released on Thursday. 

“North Korea’s sophistication and efficacy in laundering the proceeds from these incidents is continuing to improve,” said Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence at Chainalysis. “The industry needs to continue ensuring that they have better security controls.”

The report was released at a time when investing in crypto has become mainstream. More people own crypto, and because crypto transactions are irreversible, individuals and exchanges are increasingly becoming targets. 

Chainalysis is a private analytics firm that aims to create transparency about the blockchain. It helps government agencies seize and disrupt illicit activity, and helps private crypto companies with compliance. The company has released the report annually since 2019. 

North Korea broke its own record of yearly money stolen in crypto, and it did so in creative ways. The country had its own citizens work as IT employees at crypto companies, where they used AI to pretend they were working from another country, like the U.S. These employees then gained access to privileged information and caused large-scale breaches. North Koreans also used a method called social engineering, where they sent emails and text messages to people with crypto. If those individuals clicked on the wrong link, the hacker could access their private wallets. 

The biggest crypto hack in history occurred in February, when Bybit, one of the largest crypto exchanges, lost $1.4 billion. The Federal Bureau of Investigation quickly declared North Korea responsible for the theft. That attack accounted for roughly 40% of the total amount of crypto heists this year. Chainalysis found that large-scale attacks dominated in 2025, as more than two thirds of stolen funds came from just three hacks. 

The report also highlights the rise of personal wallet compromises. There were 158,000 such incidents in 2025, roughly tripling since 2022. This includes high-profile physical attacks on crypto owners, often known as wrench attacks. Earlier this year, kidnappers severed the finger of the cofounder of a Paris-based crypto wallet firm, demanding a ransom. 

“If you’re online, talking about your success in crypto investments, I’d recommend not doing that,” Fierman said. “It points to you potentially having a hardware wallet and creates a physical target for you as an individual.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com