đ„ North Korea Now Leans on Crime Networks to Launder Stolen Crypto: RUSI.
Image: Shutterstock/DecryptCreate an account to save your articles.Add on GoogleAdd Decrypt as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.In brief North Korea stole at least $2.8 billion in crypto between January 2024 and September 2025 and increasingly launders it through established criminal networks, a paper from British think tank RUSI says. Third parties sometimes buy the stolen coins outright at a discount, or the funds turn up mixed with proceeds from investment scams. Cashing out relies on money mules recruited in the Philippines, Indonesia and China, whose credentials sell cheaply enough to buy at scale.
North Korea is increasingly pushing stolen cryptocurrency through the same money-laundering networks used by scam syndicates and organised crime, blurring the trail investigators follow, according to a research paper published this month by the Royal United Services Institute, a British defence and security think tank. The regime stole at least $2.8 billion in virtual assets between January 2024 and September 2025, funds the paper says are assumed to support its weapons programme. Authors Allison Owen and Nomi Tamb focus on the point where that money turns into cash, rather than the well-documented journey through decentralised services.
â What's your take is this the start of a bigger move or just noise? Drop it below.
$BTC $ETH
#SECryptoRegulation #AICryptoIntegration #CryptoMarkets
Image: Shutterstock/DecryptCreate an account to save your articles.Add on GoogleAdd Decrypt as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.In brief North Korea stole at least $2.8 billion in crypto between January 2024 and September 2025 and increasingly launders it through established criminal networks, a paper from British think tank RUSI says. Third parties sometimes buy the stolen coins outright at a discount, or the funds turn up mixed with proceeds from investment scams. Cashing out relies on money mules recruited in the Philippines, Indonesia and China, whose credentials sell cheaply enough to buy at scale.
North Korea is increasingly pushing stolen cryptocurrency through the same money-laundering networks used by scam syndicates and organised crime, blurring the trail investigators follow, according to a research paper published this month by the Royal United Services Institute, a British defence and security think tank. The regime stole at least $2.8 billion in virtual assets between January 2024 and September 2025, funds the paper says are assumed to support its weapons programme. Authors Allison Owen and Nomi Tamb focus on the point where that money turns into cash, rather than the well-documented journey through decentralised services.
â What's your take is this the start of a bigger move or just noise? Drop it below.
$BTC $ETH
#SECryptoRegulation #AICryptoIntegration #CryptoMarkets