In response to onchain analytics from Arkham Intelligence, up to now 27 days, North Korea’s hacking arm Lazarus Group, has orchestrated the switch of three,932 BTC, valued at $331.99 million. Even after dispatching such a substantial portion, the remaining cache nonetheless cements North Korea’s standing because the third-largest nation-state bitcoin holder.
Lazarus Group’s 27-Day Exodus
Over the previous month, the hacking syndicate Lazarus Group has orchestrated a big variety of crypto asset transfers. As of March 22, 2025, Lazarus held 13,332 bitcoin, totaling $1.12 billion, and Bitcoin.com Information reported that these holdings had been being moved throughout a mess of unidentified addresses, additional obscuring their path with successive transfers. This technique endured all through the final 27 days, culminating in recent actions as lately as at the moment.
For instance, this specific switch consolidated 9.9 BTC earlier than channeling it into two distinct addresses—5 BTC to at least one and 4.89977477 BTC to the opposite—every portion then circulated repeatedly. Altogether, Lazarus has relocated 3,932 BTC valued at $331.99 million from the wallets flagged by Arkham Intelligence. At 11 a.m. EDT on Apr. 18, Lazarus oversees a reserve of 9,400 BTC value greater than $793 million, primarily based on present bitcoin alternate charges.
That hoard continues to rank North Korea third, forward of El Salvador and the Royal Authorities of Bhutan. The U.S. authorities stays the highest holder with 198,012 BTC—equal to $16.73 billion—whereas the U.Okay. follows with 61,245 BTC, or $5.17 billion. Subsequent after Lazarus Group’s holdings is Bhutan’s bitcoin cache, which totals 7,697 BTC, or $650.36 million. On March 16, Bhutan’s holdings stood at 10,635 BTC, that means it has offloaded 2,938 BTC since then.
El Salvador’s stability climbed from 6,117 BTC on March 16 to the present 6,151 BTC. That uptick corresponds to buying one bitcoin per day, a tempo the federal government has maintained for a while. In distinction, North Korea—or extra exactly, Lazarus—seems disinclined to retain its bitcoin, swiftly biking these belongings to masks their origin. Ought to this development persist and if Bhutan’s treasury holds regular, one other 1,703 BTC switch by Pyongyang would price North Korea its third-place standing amongst nation states. Naturally, this projection hinges on the idea that the hacking outfit actually enjoys state backing.
