Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has taken the extraordinary step of suing North Korea in a US federal court over a $1.5 billion cyberattack that ranks among the largest thefts in crypto history.
The exchange filed a civil lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau, and the Lazarus Group, the North Korean hacking unit identified by US authorities as responsible for the February 2025 breach.
A US federal judge granted Bybit a preliminary injunction ordering the immediate freeze of identified stolen assets held by unnamed defendants across more than 28 exchanges and custodial platforms. The court found that Bybit had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of its case, a significant legal finding in an action against a sovereign nation.
Of the approximately $1.5 billion stolen in the original attack, Bybit has recovered roughly $48.4 million and frozen an additional $30.5 million. The remaining funds, estimated at roughly 90% of the total, had become untraceable through mixing services and rapid cross-chain transfers in the weeks following the hack.
The lawsuit names North Korea’s intelligence service, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, which has been linked to multiple state-sponsored cyber operations targeting the global financial sector. The Lazarus Group has been implicated in billions of dollars in cryptocurrency thefts over the past decade, including the $620 million Ronin Network heist in 2022.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said the exchange will continue cooperating with international law enforcement and industry partners to strengthen accountability for crypto-related cybercrime. The exchange halted trading immediately after the original hack was detected and fully reimbursed affected users from its own reserves.
The case represents a landmark in crypto asset recovery efforts. Legal experts say the preliminary injunction sets a precedent for exchanges seeking to trace and recover stolen digital assets across jurisdictions, particularly when state-sponsored actors are involved.
The civil proceedings remain ongoing in US federal court. Bybit has indicated it will provide updates as permitted by the court as the case progresses. The broader crypto industry has been watching closely, as the outcome could shape future approaches to dealing with state-sponsored cyber theft targeting exchanges.
Sources: PR Newswire – Bybit Press Release, Cointelegraph – Bybit Court Win, Crypto Briefing – Bybit Lawsuit Details
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