Bybit sues North Korea over Lazarus hack

Bybit, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), its North Korea — General Reconnaissance and Intelligence Bureau (RGB), and the Lazarus Group, which U.S. authorities have identified as the DPRK-linked hacking group responsible for the February 2025 cyberattack that stole approximately $1.5 billion in digital assets. Bybit also secured a preliminary injunction freezing identified stolen assets held by unnamed John Doe defendants, with the court finding that Bybit demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits. The legal action is part of a broader strategy combining blockchain intelligence, international cooperation, and judicial remedies to recover funds and hold state-sponsored threat actors accountable. Since the incident, Bybit has recovered approximately $48.4 million in stolen assets and frozen over $30.5 million across more than 28 exchanges and custodians. The company continues to cooperate with law enforcement, including the FBI, and has supported enforcement actions that led to the dismantling of the cryptocurrency exchange eXch by German authorities and the disruption of Cryptomixer.io by German and Swiss authorities. Bybit's CEO Bybit emphasized the importance of protecting users and making the crypto industry safer.