North Korea’s Lazarus Group Fully Laundered the Ethereum (ETH) Proceeds from the Bybit Breach, Converting a Significant Share to Bitcoin (BTC)

Blockchain analysis reports from Arkham Intelligence indicate that North Korea’s Lazarus Group has fully laundered the ethereum (ETH) proceeds from the Bybit breach

A report from Arkham Intelligence has revealed that North Korea’s Lazarus Group has fully laundered the ethereum (ETH) proceeds from the Bybit breach and a large portion of the assets have now been converted into bitcoin (BTC).

The report, which was shared on X, noted that the hackers have depleted their original holdings of 499,000 ETH, leaving behind a negligible balance of just 0.1991871 ether.

"The hackers who breached Bybit have now fully laundered the 499,000 ETH they stole, leaving only 0.1991871 ether in their main account," stated Arkham.

Further observations show that much of the stolen capital has transitioned into BTC, with researchers tying the activity to a network of more than 57 accounts.

"Thorchain has processed over $5.5B in volume since Bybit was hacked on the 21st of February. After transitioning most of the stolen funds into BTC, Lazarus Group now holds 6,706 BTC, valued at around $591M," the report noted.

The report comes as the hacking syndicate, which is known to have links to state entities, now has $619.5 million in total assets, down from $919 million two days ago. At the time, Lazarus was reported to have only 3,391 BTC.

Although not directly related to the Bybit breach, Lazarus Group’s network of more than 70 wallets still holds 10,690 ETH and the funds are still moving, with the group’s wallets registering dozens of outbound transactions today alone, continuing a two-week trend of relentless activity.

"The hackers are pivoting to BTC as they need the liquidity to continue their operations," Arkham explained.

The motivation behind the hackers’ pivot to BTC is unclear, but the need for liquidity may be a factor, with the hackers needing to offload some of their ETH holdings to avoid detection.

However, the hackers still have a significant amount of ETH, which they may be using to fund new hacking ventures.

Earlier this week, a report from Chainalysis stated that North Korean hackers stole a record-high $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency from DeFi protocols and exchanges in 2022.

The report stated that a majority of the stolen cryptocurrency was later laundered through a process called "mixing," which is used to break the chain of evidence that can be used to track the stolen funds.

The report stated that the hackers were able to steal such a large amount of cryptocurrency because they were able to exploit vulnerabilities in DeFi protocols and exchanges, which allowed them to siphon off vast quantities of digital assets.

The hackers then used a variety of techniques to launder the stolen cryptocurrency, including mixing services and privacy coins.

The report stated that the hackers were ultimately successful in laundering most of the stolen cryptocurrency, with only a small portion of the assets remaining unclaimed.

The Chainalysis report stated that North Korean hackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their operations, and they are now able to carry out some of the largest and most technically complex cryptocurrency heists in history.

The report stated that the hackers are also becoming more brazen in their activities, and they are no longer afraid to target high-profile DeFi protocols and exchanges.

The report concluded by stating that the cryptocurrency industry must do more to combat financial crime and protect users from scams and heists.

Read More: North Korea's Lazarus Group Has Now Fully Laundered the 499,000 ETH Stolen From Bybit and a Large Portion of the Assets Have Been Converted into Bitcoin.