Share this article
US Files Suit Against Crypto Accounts Tied to North Korea
Prosecutors say the 280 accounts hold crypto stolen from two exchange hacks last year.
By Danny Nelson
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 9:49 a.m. Published Aug 27, 2020, 8:42 p.m.
U.S. prosecutors are going after 280 cryptocurrency accounts allegedly tied to North Korea's multimillion-dollar crypto heists and laundering networks with a new forfeiture suit filed Thursday.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
- Justice Department investigators say they traced the accounts to two cryptocurrency exchange hacks allegedly perpetrated by North Korea'a state-sponsored cyber hackers last year.
- The first, last July, emptied $272,000 in Proton, PlayGame and IHT Real Estate Protocol alt-coins from an unnamed exchange, according to prosecutors.
- They further allege that a second hack stole $2.5 million in crypto from a U.S.-based exchange two months later.
- North Koreans sloshed those funds through Chinese over-the-counter cryptocurrency traders linked to previous crypto laundering operations, according to prosecutors.
- The forfeiture complaint offers a detailed glimpse at the financial gears keeping North Korea's alleged crypto laundering machine moving.
Read more: North Korean Hacker Group Targeted Crypto Firm Using LinkedIn Ad: Cybersecurity Report
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
DOT Sinks 2% After Breaking Key Support
The Polkadot token erased earlier gains amid elevated volume, falling from a high of $2.09 to $1.97.
What to know:
- DOT collapsed through ascending trendline support around the $2.05 level on a massive 284% volume surge.
- The token broke decisively below the support level to trade 2% lower over the last 24 hours.
Top Stories
