Lazarus Group Moves $30M Through Hyperliquid: A New Shock in Crypto Security

The Lazarus Group moved $30 million in digital assets through Hyperliquid, once again spotlighting the impact of the North Korea‑linked cybercriminal collective on the global crypto ecosystem.

Hyperliquid's Red Flag

Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange that surged in 2023, has now exposed its security gaps and regulatory blind spots.

Transfer Chain: BTC to ETH, SOL, Tron

■Entry via BTC;

■Conversion to ETH and SOL;

■Bridge to the Tron network, then distribution across Ethereum, Tron, and Solana;

■Arkham analyst Emmett Gallic’s X post mapped the flow.

Final Destinations: KuCoin, Kraken, and LBank

Funds were funneled into major exchanges KuCoin, Kraken, and LBank, with several unnamed Tron‑based services also involved.

Regulatory Circle: Trump and the CFTC

On August 16, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that CFTC Chair Michael Selig was working on a regulatory pathway to bring Hyperliquid into U.S. markets—just weeks after the transfers.

Lazarus’s Legacy: the $1.4 Billion Bybit Heist

The group stole $1.4 billion from the Bybit exchange in 2025, the largest crypto hack to date.

Key Figures: 30M, 578M, 634M

■$30 million: transferred via Hyperliquid;

■$578 million: portion of the $634 million stolen in crypto incidents in April linked to North Korean actors.

Cem Talu: This incident underscores that decentralized finance still grapples with regulatory gaps, and that stringent oversight is essential to prevent large‑scale money‑laundering flows. If platforms like Hyperliquid aim to enter the U.S. market without bolstering security protocols, they risk jeopardizing both users and market integrity.