Third Largest in the World After the US and UK... North Korea Holds 1.65 Trillion Won Worth of Bitcoin

Suspected Conversion of Stolen Ethereum into Bitcoin

North Korea's Bitcoin holdings, suspected of being continuously hacked by mobilizing hacker organizations, have reportedly ranked third in the world.

According to Binance News, operated by the world's largest coin exchange Binance, and cryptocurrency data provider Arkham Intelligence on the 17th (local time), North Korea's hacking group Lazarus is estimated to currently hold 13,562 Bitcoins (BTC), equivalent to $1.14 billion (1.65 trillion KRW).

Photo to aid understanding of the above article. Bitcoin

This amount ranks third worldwide, following the United States with 198,109 BTC and the United Kingdom with 61,245 BTC.

North Korea's Bitcoin holdings exceed those of El Salvador (6,117 BTC), which adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, and Bhutan (10,635 BTC), which has mined Bitcoin using abundant hydropower resources.

The significant increase in North Korea's Bitcoin holdings appears to have occurred after one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Bybit, was hacked recently. On the 21st of last month, Bybit was hacked, resulting in the theft of coins worth $1.46 billion (2.1 trillion KRW), which is also suspected to be the work of Lazarus. Most of the stolen coins were Ethereum.

It is estimated that North Korea converted a substantial portion of the stolen Ethereum into Bitcoin at that time. North Korea is suspected of using Lazarus and others to hack cryptocurrency exchanges over recent years, stealing cryptocurrencies, laundering them into cash, and using the funds for nuclear weapons development and other purposes.