FBI Seeks Crypto Industry Assistance in Tracking Stolen Funds
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reached out to the cryptocurrency community for support in tracing and obstructing transactions linked to the laundering of approximately $1.5 billion that was stolen from Bybit by hackers associated with North Korea. In a public service announcement released on Wednesday, the FBI disclosed a list of Ethereum addresses that are currently holding or have previously held assets connected to this substantial theft.
This announcement not only highlights the involvement of North Korea but also categorizes the hacking incident as a TraderTraitor activity. Blockchain analytics firms have already attributed the hack to the notorious Lazarus group, which has strong ties to the North Korean regime. The incident marks one of the largest hacks in the history of cryptocurrency exchanges, with significant amounts of ether and ETH staking tokens being compromised just last week.
According to the FBI’s statement, the illicit actors behind this heist are in the process of converting portions of the stolen assets into Bitcoin (BTC) and various other cryptocurrencies. This conversion is occurring across thousands of addresses on multiple blockchain networks, as highlighted in the public service announcement. The FBI anticipates that these assets will undergo further laundering efforts before ultimately being converted into fiat currency.
