North Korea holds more Bitcoin than El Salvador, Bhutan
North Korea accumulated 13,562 Bitcoins, worth more than $1 billion. They currently hold the third-largest share of Bitcoin held by governments. The state-sponsored Lazarus Group’s cyber heists are primarily to blame for this accumulation.
The Lazarus Group is leading sophisticated hacks against cryptocurrency platforms, and North Korea has relied on cybercrime as a financial lifeline.
North Korea deliberately converts stolen cryptocurrency into Bitcoin because of its high liquidity and decentralization.
The Bybit hack in February 2025 was one of the biggest cryptocurrency thefts in history, with hackers primarily stealing Ethereum before converting a sizable portion to Bitcoin. Because of this, Bitcoin is a desirable way to get around international sanctions.
North Korea has more Bitcoin reserves than Bhutan and El Salvador combined, trailing only the United States (198,109 BTC) and the United Kingdom (61,245 BTC) in government Bitcoin holdings. Bitcoin is in North Korea’s possession due to cyber theft rather than purchases or seizures.
The accumulation of Bitcoin strengthens North Korea’s financial position from a geopolitical perspective. The country used cryptocurrency to finance military operations, espionage, and weapon development.
The timing of the Bybit hack, which took place just before the US announced its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) initiative, suggests that Pyongyang may be responding to trends in global Bitcoin accumulation.
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