Share this article
UN Says North Korea Funded Nuclear Weapons With Crypto Hacks in 2020: Report
U.N. experts estimate that over $316 million in crypto was stolen by North Korea-linked hackers last year.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:09 p.m. Published Feb 9, 2021, 3:19 p.m.
Cryptocurrency hacks worth hundreds of millions of dollars were used to help fund North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs in 2020, according to United Nations experts.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
- A report sent to U.N. Security Council members on Monday said North Korea-linked criminals continued to attack financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges over last year.
- The experts estimated that, from 2019 to November 2020, around $316.4 million in crypto assets had been stolen by these actors, according to an AP report Tuesday.
- They cited a single September 2020 hack against a cryptocurrency exchange that stole $281 million worth of cryptocurrency.
- That may be a reference to the breach at the KuCoin exchange breach, reported by CoinDesk in the same month.
- The U.N. experts investigated activities conducted by North Korea’s intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, which is on the U.N. sanctions blacklist for targeting cryptocurrency and defense companies.
- North Korea is said to be laundering stolen cryptocurrencies through over-the-counter brokers in China in order to acquire fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar.
See also: Ethereum Dev Virgil Griffith’s Attorney Files Motion to Dismiss Charges of Aiding North Korea
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Citadel Securities and DeFi Waging War of Words Through SEC Correspondence
The investing giant had asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to treat DeFi players like regulated entities, and the DeFi crowd pushed back.
What to know:
- A feud conducted over U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) correspondence has developed between Citadel Securities and the DeFi sector, arguing over whether DeFi protocols should be more regulated.
- The DeFi space is calling out the investment firm for its approach to the securities regulator.
Top Stories
