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North Korea Rejects U.S. Claims as TRM Labs Links Crypto Hacks to $6 Billion in Theft

TRM Labs says North Korea-linked hackers stole about $577 million in the first four months of 2026, accounting for roughly 76% of global crypto theft losses and including attacks on KelpDAO and Drift Protocol.

Fact Check
All key figures in the claim are directly confirmed by TRM Labs' own published blog post (the originating primary source), which states North Korea-linked hackers stole approximately $577 million through April 2026, representing 76% of global crypto hack losses, via attacks on KelpDAO ($292M) and Drift Protocol ($285M). The $6 billion cumulative theft figure since 2017 is also explicitly stated in the TRM Labs report and corroborated by The Block, CoinDesk, crypto.news, and Odaily. North Korea's denial of these claims is confirmed by crypto.news and Odaily. There are no conflicting figures or contradictory sources. The only minor nuance is that the claim title references '$6 billion in theft' as a cumulative historical figure (since 2017), not a 2026-only figure, which is accurate per all sources.
Summary

North Korea denied allegations that it funds itself through cryptocurrency theft, while TRM Labs said North Korea-linked hackers have stolen more than $6 billion from the digital asset sector since 2017. According to TRM Labs, about $577 million was stolen in the first four months of 2026, representing roughly 76% of global crypto theft losses during that period. The incidents cited by TRM Labs included attacks on KelpDAO and Drift Protocol. The figures underscore the continued prominence of North Korea-linked cybercrime in the crypto sector and its significance for sanctions enforcement, security monitoring, and efforts to trace and recover stolen digital assets.

Terms & Concepts
  • Blockchain analytics: The practice of tracing transactions across public blockchain networks to identify fund flows, suspicious activity, and links between wallets.
  • DAO (decentralized autonomous organization): A blockchain-based organization governed by token holders or smart contract rules rather than a central management structure.
  • Smart contract (self-executing blockchain code): Code deployed on a blockchain that automatically performs actions when preset conditions are met, often powering crypto protocols.