As the United States prepares to launch its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, North Korea has quietly vaulted into the top holders of Bitcoin globally.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has become the third largest nation-state holder of BTC, with a stash of around 13,518 coins — valued at $1.12 billion, says blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.
North Korea Now Third-Largest Bitcoin Holder Among Governments
The Bitcoin stash places the hermit kingdom ahead of even Bhutan, which holds 10,635 BTC worth $887.5 million, and El Salvador, with 6,118 Bitcoin, per Arkham.
Bhutan has primarily stacked BTC through its vast domestic mining efforts that started in 2019, with the Himalayan nation capitalizing on its abundant hydroelectric power to sustain its mining strategy. El Salvador has been buying up Bitcoin since it adopted the world’s largest crypto by market cap as its legal tender back in 2021.
Meanwhile, the huge boost in North Korea’s Bitcoin haul comes from the state-sponsored Lazarus Group’s hack on the Bybit exchange on Feb.21.
In the biggest-ever heist on a digital asset exchange, Lazarus made away with a jaw-dropping $1.5 billion in crypto assets after taking control of Bybit’s cold wallet. The hackers swapped a chunk of the stolen Ethereum (ETH) into BTC using the decentralized exchange THORChain.
Before the record-shattering hack on Bybit, Lazarus launched countless cyber attacks against cryptocurrency companies worldwide, including a $308 million theft from Japanese firm DMM Bitcoin last year and $625 million from the Ronin Network in 2022.
Lazarus also holds roughly $30 million worth of other cryptos, including ETH, BNB, and USDT.
Even though North Korea’s Bitcoin holdings have dramatically increased, the United States remains the world’s biggest Bitcoin holder, with a 198,109 BTC ($17 billion) stockpile. The U.K. comes in second place, holding 61,245 BTC, worth $4,055,461,003, Arkham data shows.
