In less than three weeks, wallets linked to the infamous North Korean hacking group Lazarus have moved over $30 million in Bitcoin through Hyperliquid. This development raises questions about the platform's readiness to enter the U.S. market and could become a serious obstacle on the path to its long-awaited IPO.

Analysts at blockchain firm Arkham, relying on attribution previously published by independent researcher ZachXBT, identified a chain of transactions. The funds, allegedly stolen by Lazarus, were converted into ETH and Solana (SOL), then moved to centralized exchanges Kraken, LBank, and KuCoin. The laundering scheme is classic for this group, but the choice of Hyperliquid as a hub is particularly concerning.

Trump and Hyperliquid: Political Context

U.S. President Donald Trump publicly mentioned Hyperliquid at a White House event several weeks ago, noting that Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig is actively working to ensure the platform enters the U.S. market legally and in full compliance. "I understand that Mike is also working on bringing Hyperliquid to the U.S. in a lawful and fully compliant manner, putting a lot of effort into it," Trump said.

At the time of the analysis, the HYPE token was trading around $84, up 5% over the day. The market's muted reaction to the news about North Korean wallets is telling: traders, for now, do not appear to be pricing in potential sanctions risks. Notably, on August 27, just a few days before the information emerged, HYPE reached an all-time high of $86.71.

The question is how strictly the CFTC will view this story as a signal of the platform's non-compliance. The timeline for Hyperliquid's entry into the U.S. market depends on this. The regulator under Selig's leadership has already approved a perpetual Bitcoin contract on one of the registered exchanges this year, and this case could serve as a benchmark for Hyperliquid.

Sanctions Risks and Regulatory Pressure

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the Lazarus Group back in 2019. The group is responsible for billions of dollars in cryptocurrency thefts, including the Ronin Network hack in 2022 and the record-breaking $1.5 billion Bybit hack in 2025. In the first half of 2025 alone, North Korean hackers stole approximately $1.6 billion in cryptocurrency—about 70% of all losses in the crypto market during that period.

This data surfaced right in the middle of negotiations with Payward regarding Hyperliquid's regulated entry into the U.S. market through its subsidiary Bitnomial. In May, the organization closed the deal to acquire Bitnomial for $550 million and immediately received three CFTC licenses.

My analysis: The market is clearly underestimating the systemic risk. If U.S. regulators link Lazarus activity to insufficient oversight by Hyperliquid, this could not only delay the IPO but also trigger stricter KYC/AML requirements for the entire derivatives industry. Right now, HYPE looks vulnerable, and any tightening of rhetoric from the CFTC could become a trigger for a correction.