North Korea Becomes the World’s 3rd Largest Bitcoin Holder

North Korea has just climbed to the third-largest national Bitcoin holder after its state-backed hacking unit, Lazarus Group, pulled off a $1.4 billion heist from Bybit. The country’s BTC reserves now stand at 13,518 BTC, worth an estimated $1.13 billion.

According to Arkham Intelligence, North Korea now surpasses Bhutan (10,635 BTC) and El Salvador (6,118 BTC) in Bitcoin reserves. Bhutan’s holdings stem from a national mining initiative, whereas El Salvador has been actively buying BTC since 2021, when it became the first nation to adopt it as legal tender.

Related: Who Holds the Most Bitcoin? January 2025 Update 

Bybit Hacked: Lazarus Group Steals $1.4 Billion in Crypto’s Biggest Heist

On February 21, 2024, Lazarus Group launched a devastating attack on Bybit, stealing $1.4 billion worth of ETH—the largest crypto exchange hack in history.

To cover their tracks, the hackers converted the stolen ETH into BTC using THORChain, making the assets nearly impossible to trace.

This is just the latest in a series of major hacks by Lazarus. In 2022, they looted $615 million from Ronin Network, and in 2023, they stole $308 million from DMM Bitcoin.

Investigations indicate that North Korea uses stolen cryptocurrency to finance weapons of mass destruction. CNN reports that roughly 50% of its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons budget is derived from hacked digital assets.

Alongside Bitcoin, North Korean hackers are holding approximately $30 million in cryptocurrencies, including ETH, BNB, DAI, and BUSD.

North Korea’s BTC Reserves vs the World’s Largest Holders

At the top of the list, the United States leads as the largest government Bitcoin holder, with a staggering 198,109 BTC. These funds were confiscated by U.S. authorities during investigations into criminal and civil cases.

Coming in second, the United Kingdom holds 61,245 BTC, which was also seized by law enforcement in crackdowns on crypto-related crimes.