Bybit filed suit against North Korea and the Lazarus Group in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking $1.5 billion in damages over a February 2025 cryptocurrency theft. The lawsuit was filed under seal on June 18 and made public on August 8, 2026.
Bybit alleges the Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking collective, stole $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency from the exchange's systems. The suit names both the group and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as defendants. In the same filing, Bybit secured a preliminary injunction freezing stolen assets held in accounts and wallets the court determined were connected to the theft.
The Lazarus Group has been attributed by U.S. government officials and private cybersecurity firms to multiple high-profile crypto breaches since 2017. The group's operations have funded North Korea's weapons development and sanctions evasion, according to Treasury Department designations issued in 2019 and updated through 2024. The February 2025 Bybit theft ranks among the largest single cryptocurrency thefts attributed to a state actor.
Bybit's lawsuit is one of the first civil cases brought by a major crypto exchange against a foreign government and its intelligence apparatus. The exchange is pursuing the claim under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which permits U.S. courts to hear suits against foreign states in certain circumstances, including acts of terrorism and commercial activity. The court granted the preliminary injunction before trial.
Crypto asset recovery through litigation remains uncommon. Exchanges and protocols have filed claims related to theft and loss before, but obtaining court orders to freeze state-actor-controlled funds is rare. The viability of collecting a $1.5 billion judgment against North Korea, which does not maintain U.S. bank accounts or assets in American jurisdiction, is uncertain. If stolen funds move through regulated custodians, exchanges, or banking corridors tied to U.S. law, the injunction could bar their movement.
Bybit's damages claim matches the theft amount. The exchange has not disclosed in its public announcement whether it has identified additional losses, legal costs, or broader business impact it is quantifying in the suit. A trial date has not been set.
