North Korea
Schwab brings crypto to 38M users; North Korea 'simply' to blame for recent DeFi hacks
On this debut episode of CoinDesk's new show The Policy Protocol, co-hosts Renato Mariotti and Rebecca Rettig break down Schwab's rollout of crypto to nearly 40 million brokerage accounts and the Kelp DAO hack tied to North Korea. Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs, joins to make the case for going on offense against DPRK hackers and cracking down on non-compliant offshore exchanges.
Strategy Surpasses BlackRock as World's Biggest Bitcoin Holder
Strategy now holds 815,061 BTC, edging past BlackRock's IBIT for the first time since Q2 2024, after a $2.54 billion bitcoin purchase. It's the first time a single corporate treasury has outpaced the world's largest spot bitcoin ETF. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts "CoinDesk Daily."
$13B exits DeFi in 48 hours after Kelp DAO's exploit
A $292 million exploit of Kelp DAO's cross-chain bridge has wiped $13 billion from DeFi in two days, with Aave alone losing $8.45 billion in deposits. LayerZero attributes the attack to North Korea's Lazarus Group and blames Kelp's single-verifier setup. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts "CoinDesk Daily."
U.S. sanctions 6 people, 2 companies that laundered $800 million in crypto for North Korea
The Treasury Department said North Korea infiltrated IT workers into U.S. businesses and channeled their wages back to the country to fund weapons of mass destruction programs.
Sanctions evasions using crypto increased by 700% in 2025: Chainalysis
Russia, Iran and North Korea expanded their use of stablecoins, hacked funds and state-linked exchanges to move more than $100 billion onchain to evade international sanctions.
North Korean hackers stole a record $2 billion of crypto in 2025, Chainalysis says
North Korea-linked hackers drove a record year for crypto thefts, favoring rare but massive attacks on centralized services, led by Bybit’s $1.4 billion breach.
Most Influential: The Lazarus Group
The crypto industry’s most notorious hackers continue to break records, highlighting the importance of taking every step possible to secure wallets.
South Korea Suspects North Korea-Linked Lazarus Behind $36M Upbit Hack
On Thursday, South Korea's largest digital asset exchange, Upbit, suspended deposits and withdrawals after detecting unusual activity in the Solana network tokens.
U.S. DOJ Pursues North Korea's Illicit Money Machine, Seizes More Crypto
U.S. authorities secured several criminal convictions and gathered another $15 million in proceeds from North Korean crypto heists, the Justice Department said.
U.S. Sanctions North Korean Bankers Over Crypto Laundering Tied to Cyberattacks
The Treasury Department sanctioned eight individuals and two entities accused of using crypto and shell companies to funnel millions into Pyongyang’s weapons programs.
