A post by @WatcherGuru on X.

North Korean hackers have stolen $12.8 billion in cryptocurrency since 2017, an amount equivalent to roughly 45% of the country's GDP, according to a report circulating on X from Watcher.Guru. The figure underscores the scale of state-sponsored crypto theft attributed to the Lazarus Group and related units, which have targeted exchanges, bridges, and DeFi protocols across multiple chains, including the record $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025. The stolen funds are widely believed to fund the regime's weapons programs, drawing sustained scrutiny from the U.S. Treasury, FBI, and UN sanctions monitors. For markets, the persistent threat has weighed on exchange security budgets, boosted demand for custody solutions, and contributed to risk premiums on affected tokens and platforms. Watchers should monitor on-chain laundering activity through mixers and cross-chain bridges, as well as any new sanctions designations or exchange disclosures tied to North Korean wallets.