The G7 has declared war on North Korea's crypto army: the scale of the threat and the lack of concrete solutions
At a recent summit in Evian, leaders of the G7 nations made a strong statement: efforts must be united to combat cryptocurrency thefts and cyberattacks originating from North Korea. This acknowledgment came in response to an unprecedented surge in activity by hacker groups linked to Pyongyang, which have already turned digital assets into one of the main sources of funding for their military program. However, despite the seriousness of the tone, the summit's final document contains neither specific mechanisms nor new sanctions measures specifically targeting the crypto sector.
The scale of the threat is confirmed by fresh data from the analytical platform Chainalysis: in 2025 alone, hackers operating under the auspices of the DPRK stole a record $2.02 billion in cryptocurrencies. This figure is 51% higher than the result of the previous year. Overall, according to expert estimates, the total volume of digital assets stolen by North Korean groups in recent years has reached at least $6.75 billion. These funds are believed to be used to circumvent international sanctions and support Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
From my perspective, the G7 demonstrates an understanding of the problem but is not yet ready to move from words to action regarding cryptocurrencies. The lack of clear solutions — such as strengthening regulation of crypto exchanges in safe-haven jurisdictions or implementing mandatory protocols for tracking suspicious transactions — leaves loopholes for North Korean operators. As long as the G7 confines itself to general appeals, DPRK hackers will continue to ramp up their operations, using the decentralized nature of the crypto market as a shield.