U.S. says DPRK stole $400 million in crypto in three months, putting 2025 thefts above $2 billion

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Evidence from credible sources supports the statement as accurate. Learn more in Methodology.

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oversight

Confirm that the MSMT or associated sources document a $400 million increase in cryptocurrency thefts in the three months after the report and that 2025 crypto thefts exceed $2 billion.

Source summary
The U.S. and other members of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team highlighted a recent MSMT report documenting how the DPRK evades UN sanctions through malicious cyber operations and overseas IT worker activity. The 140-page report—built from previously non-public material from 11 UN member states and nine private firms—details large-scale cryptocurrency thefts (including at least $2.8 billion from Jan. 2024–Sept. 2025 and an additional $400 million in the three months after the report), networks for laundering and procurement in several countries, and DPRK IT workers operating in at least eight countries.
Latest fact check

Analyses of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) report indicate that DPRK-linked actors had stolen roughly $1.6–1.65 billion in cryptocurrency from January through September 2025, as part of about $2.8 billion taken between January 2024 and September 2025. Subsequent blockchain forensics by Chainalysis found that North Korea-linked hackers stole at least $2.02 billion in cryptocurrency during 2025 alone, based on data through early December. The difference between the MSMT’s January–September 2025 estimate ($1.6–1.65 billion) and Chainalysis’s full‑year 2025 figure ($2.02 billion) implies additional thefts on the order of $350–400 million in the final quarter of 2025. Independent reporting from Yonhap and cybersecurity researchers corroborates both the MSMT baselines and the ≥$2 billion annual total derived from Chainalysis. Verdict: True, because convergent estimates from MSMT-based analyses and independent blockchain forensics support that DPRK actors stole more than $2 billion in crypto in 2025 and that roughly $400 million of this was added after the MSMT report’s cutoff, matching the statement’s magnitude and timing.

Timeline

  1. Update · Jan 13, 2026, 08:55 AMTrue
    Analyses of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) report indicate that DPRK-linked actors had stolen roughly $1.6–1.65 billion in cryptocurrency from January through September 2025, as part of about $2.8 billion taken between January 2024 and September 2025. Subsequent blockchain forensics by Chainalysis found that North Korea-linked hackers stole at least $2.02 billion in cryptocurrency during 2025 alone, based on data through early December. The difference between the MSMT’s January–September 2025 estimate ($1.6–1.65 billion) and Chainalysis’s full‑year 2025 figure ($2.02 billion) implies additional thefts on the order of $350–400 million in the final quarter of 2025. Independent reporting from Yonhap and cybersecurity researchers corroborates both the MSMT baselines and the ≥$2 billion annual total derived from Chainalysis. Verdict: True, because convergent estimates from MSMT-based analyses and independent blockchain forensics support that DPRK actors stole more than $2 billion in crypto in 2025 and that roughly $400 million of this was added after the MSMT report’s cutoff, matching the statement’s magnitude and timing.
  2. Original article · Jan 12, 2026

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