The G7 declares war on North Korea's crypto army: the scale of the threat and the reaction of world leaders
Global powers have finally turned their close attention to what I and my colleagues have been warning about for years: North Korean hackers have turned cryptocurrencies into the main tool for financing their nuclear program. Following the G7 summit in Évian, the leaders of the "Group of Seven" nations issued a joint statement directly pointing to the need for coordinated action against cryptocurrency thefts carried out by groups linked to North Korea.
Numbers That Cannot Be Ignored
The scale of the threat is confirmed by data from the analytical platform Chainalysis. In 2025 alone, hackers operating under the auspices of Pyongyang stole crypto assets worth $2.02 billion. This is 51% more than in the previous year. The total volume of stolen funds over the entire observation period has already exceeded $6.75 billion. This is not about petty theft—it is a systemic threat to global financial stability.
The G7 document emphasizes that North Korea uses stolen digital assets to circumvent international sanctions and finance its missile and nuclear programs. However, despite the loud statements, no specific countermeasures or new regulatory measures for the crypto industry were proposed. This raises serious questions: is there enough political will for real action?
My View on the Situation
The fact that the G7 has finally acknowledged the problem at the highest level is an important step. But without specific tools, such as mandatory wallet verification on exchanges or blocking transactions with suspicious addresses, this document risks remaining merely a declaration of intent. North Korean hackers operate with frightening efficiency, and the market must be prepared for increased pressure on crypto exchanges and DeFi protocols from regulators.