North Korean hackers steal nearly $400 million worth of cryptocurrency in 2021

In 2021 alone, North Korean hackers have stolen nearly $400 million worth of digital assets, a 40 percent increase compared to 2020, according to a report published by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. From 2020 to 2021, the number of North Korea-related hacking attacks jumped from four to seven. In dollar terms, Bitcoin accounts for less than a quarter of the cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers. In 2021, only 20% of the stolen funds are in Bitcoin, while 22% are in ERC-20 tokens or altcoins, with Ethereum accounting for the majority of the stolen funds at 58%. Additionally, 65% of stolen funds were laundered through mixers, up from 42% in 2020 and 21% in 2019.