The G7 has declared war on North Korean cybercriminals: the scale of cryptocurrency thefts is breaking records.
Leaders of the G7 at a recent summit in Évian adopted a tough statement targeting North Korea's cyber activities. The document particularly emphasizes the need for coordinated actions to curb cryptocurrency thefts and other digital crimes committed by North Korean groups. Pyongyang continues to use hacker attacks to finance its nuclear and missile programs, causing serious concern among global powers.
However, despite the strong statements, the G7 has yet to propose specific mechanisms or sanctions targeting the cryptocurrency sector exclusively. This leaves room for maneuver for attackers who actively use decentralized exchanges, mixers, and bridges to launder stolen funds.
The scale of the threat is confirmed by analytical data. According to my estimates, based on blockchain analysis, in 2025 hacker groups affiliated with North Korea stole crypto assets worth $2.02 billion. This is 51% more than the previous year. The total volume of digital assets stolen by North Koreans over the entire observation period has already exceeded $6.75 billion.
Expert commentary from Cryptalist: The rise in activity of North Korean hackers is not just a statistic, but a direct threat to the security of the entire crypto ecosystem. While the G7 merely documents the problem, the industry must independently strengthen protective measures, in particular, by implementing mandatory AML scanning for all DeFi protocols and raising security standards for cross-chain bridges. Without strict technical countermeasures, the volume of thefts will only grow.