North Korea
North Korea: the DPRK has a mutual defence treaty with Russia, supplies oil, shares closeness. China is its largest trading partner and provides a lifeline against sanctions. The state‑sponsored hacking unit Lazarus Group has been linked to cyberattacks. Trader Traitor, a North Korean hacking unit, was attributed as the group behind Binance’s $6.3 billion theft; Blockaid and Cointelegraph analysts noted the attack as resembling known North Korean operations. North Korean actors also targeted Bybit ($1.5 billion) and Bitget. The Russian‑financed oil trade in 2024 exceeded 1 billion barrels, and at least 2,300 DPRK soldiers are estimated to have died fighting for Russia in Ukraine. The UN Panel of Experts estimated that North Korean IT worker schemes produced $250–$600 million revenue annually. Pyongyang remained the capital, and the regime's use of cryptocurrency involved several intermediaries. Binance's $6.3bn hack is linked to a North Korean hacking unit. TRM Labs identified the hack as linked to a North Korean hacking unit. Chainalysis said it had high confidence that a North Korean was linked to the hack. North Korea is associated with TraderTraitor group Investigators tie the $6B Binance hack to North Korea. North Korea has the state-backed hacking unit Lazarus Group North Korea was responsible for the $1.5bn theft on Bybit FBI accused North Korea of stealing $1.5bn on Bybit The Binance's $6.3bn hack is attributed to North Korea Bitget was attributed to DPRK Blockchain investigators link the attack to North Korea Ilya Boykov converted $3.5 million in crypto for North Korea Vitold Obertas converted nearly $2 million in crypto for North Korea· Entity summary generated by Graphiti
Relation timeline
BY VALID-FROM DATE- North KoreaLINKED TOBitcoin
Blockchain investigators link the attack to North Korea
- FBIACCUSESNorth Korea
FBI accused North Korea of stealing $1.5bn on Bybit
- North KoreaSTEALS FROMBybit
North Korea was responsible for the $1.5bn theft on Bybit
- North KoreaHAS HACKING GROUPLazarus Group
North Korea has the state-backed hacking unit Lazarus Group
- Multi-billion Binance hackTIED TONorth Korea
Investigators tie the $6B Binance hack to North Korea.
- North KoreaASSOCIATED WITHTraderTraitor
North Korea is associated with TraderTraitor group
- BinanceATTRIBUTED TONorth Korea
Binance’s record‑breaking exploit was attributed to North Korea‑backed hackers.
- BinanceHACK LINKED TONorth Korea
Binance's $6.3bn hack is linked to a North Korean hacking unit.
- TRM LabsLINKED ATTACK TONorth Korea
TRM Labs identified the hack as linked to a North Korean hacking unit.
- ChainalysisCONFIRMED HACK LINKED TONorth Korea
Chainalysis said it had high confidence that a North Korean was linked to the hack.
- 6.3 Billion Binance HackATTRIBUTED TONorth Korea
The Binance's $6.3bn hack is attributed to North Korea
- BitgetATTRIBUTED TONorth Korea
Bitget was attributed to DPRK
- Ido Ben-NatanATTRIBUTES TONorth Korea
Ido Ben-Natan attributes the attack’s sophistication and on-chain preparations to North Korean activity
- FBIATTRIBUTED DMM BITCOIN THEFT TONorth Korea
The FBI joined US and Japanese investigators in attributing the DMM Bitcoin theft to North Korea.
- BlockaidATTRIBUTED ATTACK TONorth Korea
Blockaid said the Binance attack resembled North Korean activity
- Lazarus GroupORIGINATES FROMNorth Korea
North Korea's Lazarus Group is a North Korea state-sponsored hacking group
- TraderTraitorAFFILIATED WITHNorth Korea
TraderTraitor is a North Korean hacking unit
- BybitIS SIMILAR TONorth Korea
The Binance attack activity resembles operations linked to North Korean cyber attackers, similar to Bybit’s incident
- TraderTraitorASSOCIATED WITHNorth Korea
TraderTraitor is associated with North Korea
- Vitold Viktorovich ObertasCONVERTED FORNorth Korea
Vitold Obertas converted nearly $2 million in crypto for North Korea
- Ilya Aleksandrovich BoykovCONVERTED FORNorth Korea
Ilya Boykov converted $3.5 million in crypto for North Korea
- Lightning NodeLINKED TONorth Korea
TRM Labs linked the Bitget incident to North Korea
- ChainalysisLINKED TONorth Korea
Chainalysis linked the Bitget incident to North Korea
- EllipticLINKED TONorth Korea
Elliptic linked the Bitget incident to North Korea
- Vitold Viktorovich ObertasHANDLED FORNorth Korea
handled at least $1.25 million in other currency transactions for North Korean entities
- First Financial and Technical Development CenterIS CONTROLLED BYNorth Korea
First Financial and Technical Development Center is a North Korean‑controlled organization operating in Russia
- North KoreaSTEALSBybit
North Korea *STEALS* Bybit
- ChinaIS LARGEST TRADING PARTNER OFNorth Korea
China is the largest trading partner of North Korea
- North KoreaGROW CLOSER TORussia
North Korea has grown closer to Russia
- PyongyangIS CAPITAL OFNorth Korea
Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea
- North KoreaHAD SOLDIERS DEATH INUkraine
At least 2,300 North Korean soldiers are believed to have died fighting for Russia in Ukraine
- ChinaPROVIDES LIFELINE TONorth Korea
China provides a lifeline to North Korea against sanctions
- ChinaSHIFTED ATTITUDE TOWARDNorth Korea
China’s attitude toward North Korea shifted more recently
- ChinaHAS MUTUAL DEFENCE TREATY WITHNorth Korea
China has a mutual defence treaty with North Korea
- Vitold Viktorovich ObertasCONVERTED CRYPTO FORNorth Korea
Vitold Viktorovich Obertas converted nearly $2 million in cryptocurrency for North Korean officials since January 2025
- Vitold Viktorovich ObertasHANDLED CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS FORNorth Korea
Vitold Viktorovich Obertas handled at least $1.25 million in other currency transactions for North Korean officials since January 2025
- BybitLOST TONorth Korea
Bybit’s $1.4 billion loss was attributed to North Korea in Q1 2025
- RussiaSUPPLIES OIL TONorth Korea
Russia supplied oil to North Korea in 2024 (more than 1 billion barrels)
- BybitHACKED BYNorth Korea
Bybit was hacked for $1.5B by North Korea
- Ilya Aleksandrovich BoykovFACILITATED CRYPTO TRANSACTIONS FORNorth Korea
Ilya Aleksandrovich Boykov facilitated approximately $5.5 million in cryptocurrency transactions for North Korean operations
Relations are facts Graphiti extracted from reports, not verbatim quotes. An end date means later reporting showed the relation no longer holds.
Events 12
- Why North Korea's 'elite' hackers are the prime suspect in major Binance hack3 cited reports · 2026-10-31
- Inside the largest crypto hack on record: How attackers breached Binance for $6.3 billion1 cited report · 2026-10-31
- Worried About Crypto Hacks? Buy Bitcoin Proxies in Stock Market Instead, Say Wall Street Firms1 cited report · 2026-10-31
- Recap: How Binance’s record $6.3B hack unfolded1 cited report · 2026-10-31
- Crypto giant Binance attempting to recover $6.3bn stolen in hack linked to North Korea2 cited reports · 2026-10-31
- What is EIP-7702? The Ethereum Upgrade Behind the $6.4B Binance Hack1 cited report · 2026-10-30
- Morning Minute: Binance’s $6.4B Hack Overshadows Hyperliquid’s Biggest Day1 cited report · 2026-10-30
- Binance uncovers more breach points in $6 billion hack6 cited reports · 2026-10-30
- As it happened: Binance’s record $6.3B crypto hack2 cited reports · 2026-10-30
- US Sanctions Two Russians Accused of Converting $5.5M in Crypto for North Korea3 cited reports · 2026-10-29
- President Trump to Highlight Crackdown on Overseas Crypto Scams1 cited report · 2026-10-21
- North Korea and China open new bridge after 12-year delay1 cited report · 2026-10-15
Source reports 27
- Bitcoin stolen from Binance tops Tesla’s holdings and is over twice El Salvador’s reserveCoinDesk · 2026-10-31
- Why North Korea's 'elite' hackers are the prime suspect in major Binance hackBBC World · 2026-10-31
- What to Know About the $6.3 Billion Binance HackBitcoin Magazine · 2026-10-31
- Inside the largest crypto hack on record: How attackers breached Binance for $6.3 billionThe Block · 2026-10-31
- Worried About Crypto Hacks? Buy Bitcoin Proxies in Stock Market Instead, Say Wall Street FirmsDecrypt · 2026-10-31
- Recap: How Binance’s record $6.3B hack unfoldedCointelegraph · 2026-10-31
- Crypto giant Binance attempting to recover $6.3bn stolen in hack linked to North KoreaBBC World · 2026-10-31
- What is EIP-7702? The Ethereum Upgrade Behind the $6.4B Binance HackDecrypt · 2026-10-30
- Blockchain Firms Link North Korea to $6.3 Billion Binance HackBitcoin Magazine · 2026-10-30
- Morning Minute: Binance’s $6.4B Hack Overshadows Hyperliquid’s Biggest DayDecrypt · 2026-10-30
- TRM and Chainalysis Tie $6.4B Binance Hack to North Korea's TraderTraitorDecrypt · 2026-10-30
- Binance uncovers more breach points in $6 billion hackCryptoSlate · 2026-10-30
- What we know about Binance's $6.3bn hackBBC World · 2026-10-30
- As it happened: Binance’s record $6.3B crypto hackCointelegraph · 2026-10-30
- North Korea’s TraderTraitor linked to $6.3B Binance hackCointelegraph · 2026-10-30
- Crypto's longtime foe, North Korea's Lazarus Group, likely behind Binance hack: blockchain sleuthsCoinDesk · 2026-10-30
- Crypto giant Binance hit by $6.3bn hack suspected to be largest in historyBBC Business · 2026-10-30
- Binance points to engineer’s hacked laptop in $6.3B breachCointelegraph · 2026-10-30
- Binance Hack: $6.3 Billion Impacted, Circle and Tether Freeze, Crypto Markets ReactBeInCrypto · 2026-10-30
- Binance hit by $6.3B hack, the largest in cryptocurrency historyCointelegraph · 2026-10-30
- US Sanctions Two Russians Accused of Converting $5.5M in Crypto for North KoreaBeInCrypto · 2026-10-29
- U.S. sanctions Russian nationals for laundering millions in crypto for North Korean IT workersCoinDesk · 2026-10-29
- North Korea’s $600 million fake-worker empire has a hidden crypto connectionCryptoSlate · 2026-10-29
- Centralized Exchange and DeFi Losses Dominate 2026 Crypto Hacks Despite Hardware Wallet FailuresBitcoin Magazine · 2026-10-29
- President Trump to Highlight Crackdown on Overseas Crypto ScamsBitcoin Magazine · 2026-10-21
- Bitget, Liquid exploits push Q3 crypto hacks toward $1.2BCointelegraph · 2026-10-15
- North Korea and China open new bridge after 12-year delayBBC World · 2026-10-15