Chainalysis estimated that North Korean hackers stole at least $2.02 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025. That is a year-end estimate, not an audited total: other analysts reported different figures, and the largest single incident—the February Bybit breach—accounted for much of the amount.
How the 2025 estimates compare
These figures are alternative estimates, not amounts to add together. They differ in reporting cutoff, inclusion rules, and attribution standards.
| Source and date | Estimate | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Chainalysis, December 18, 2025 | At least $2.02 billion | Its year-end estimate of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers in 2025. Chainalysis said the estimate was $681 million above its 2024 estimate, a 51% year-over-year increase, and put its lower-bound cumulative total at $6.75 billion. |
| TRM Labs, 2025 | $1.92 billion | Its estimate of cryptocurrency theft attributed to DPRK-linked actors that year. |
| Elliptic, October 6, 2025 | More than $2 billion | A running estimate published with three months left in the year, not a final year-end tally. |
| Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), October 2025 | $1.64578 billion | Its estimate for January through September 2025. The report says it included only thefts attributed to the DPRK with a high degree of certainty. |
The MSMT figure covers nine months and uses an explicit high-confidence threshold, so it is not directly comparable to a full-year estimate. Its report also says some potentially DPRK-conducted heists were excluded and that the actual amount may be higher. The report describes its estimates as based on participating-state analysis coordinated with Mandiant and Chainalysis.
Why the Bybit breach drove the total
The February 2025 compromise of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit was the defining event in these estimates. TRM Labs attributed the breach to North Korean operatives and estimated the loss at $1.46 billion. Chainalysis described it as a $1.5 billion compromise and the largest single hack in its dataset. The MSMT report said Bybit accounted for the vast majority of North Korean cryptocurrency theft proceeds through September.
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TRM Labs calculated that the Bybit breach represented 51% of all cryptocurrency stolen in 2025 under its accounting. That percentage refers to the share of all theft in TRM Labs’ calculation, not the share of every analyst’s North Korea-linked total. A single exceptionally large breach can therefore have an outsized effect on an annual estimate.
Why analysts reach different totals
Attribution is an assessment, not a perfect label attached to every transaction. Analysts combine blockchain activity, laundering patterns, and intelligence sources, then decide which incidents meet their standards for inclusion. Elliptic cautioned that “Attributing cyber thefts to North Korea is not an exact science.” It says it excludes some suspected cases when evidence is insufficient, while acknowledging that thefts may also be unknown or unreported.
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- Different cutoffs: Elliptic’s October update was a running total, the MSMT report covered January through September, and Chainalysis and TRM Labs published year-level assessments.
- Different attribution thresholds: The MSMT explicitly counted cases attributed with high confidence; analytics providers apply their own methods and criteria.
- Different incident coverage: Whether a suspected incident is included can change the total, particularly when evidence is incomplete.
Chainalysis also estimated that all cryptocurrency theft—not just North Korea-linked theft—exceeded $3.4 billion from January through early December 2025. Its account assigned $1.5 billion of that total to Bybit. This is an industry-wide figure, so it should not be confused with the North Korea-linked estimate.
What the reported attacks involved
The incidents attributed to DPRK-linked actors did not all use one method. The MSMT report said several major heists, including Bybit, DMM Bitcoin, and WazirX, involved compromises of third-party providers rather than direct compromise of the exchanges themselves. That points to risks in the vendors and systems surrounding a crypto service as well as in the service itself.
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Chainalysis has also described embedded IT workers seeking privileged access at crypto services, along with fake recruitment approaches and bogus investor or acquirer outreach intended to obtain credentials or sensitive system information. These are reported tactics, not proof that every breach followed the same playbook.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Stolen value is not the same as money received
The estimates measure cryptocurrency value stolen, generally at the time of theft. They do not provide a complete accounting of what was later converted, recovered, seized, lost during laundering, or ultimately received by the North Korean state. The Chainalysis estimate therefore does not establish that the government retained or spent exactly $2.02 billion.
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Chainalysis has described multi-wave laundering pathways after major DPRK-attributed hacks, often unfolding over about 45 days in cases it observed between 2022 and 2025. Its analysis notes that some funds remain dormant and that some transfers or over-the-counter conversions may not be visible on-chain without corroborating information. Those constraints make a precise public accounting of final proceeds difficult.
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