Bybit sues North Korea and its Reconnaissance General Bureau, court approves freezing of identified stolen assets

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has filed a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, suing North Korea, the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau, and the hacker group Lazarus Group, regarding a theft incident of approximately $1.5 billion in February 2025. Bybit stated that the judge has approved a preliminary injunction prohibiting the transfer or disposal of identified stolen assets during the case proceedings, and believes that Bybit has a high likelihood of success on the merits.

The lawsuit also lists unknown individuals and entities holding or transferring the relevant funds as John Doe defendants. Bybit disclosed that approximately $48.4 million has been recovered, and about $30.5 million has been frozen across more than 28 exchanges and custodians, together accounting for approximately 5% of the stolen amount. The attackers transferred about 500,000 ETH from Bybit's cold wallet in February 2025, with most of the funds subsequently exchanged for Bitcoin via Thorchain and transferred through mixing services. Bybit stated that the case is progressing in parallel with a criminal investigation.