US court backs Bybit’s bid to trace funds from $1.5B North Korea hack
U.S. court records show a federal judge granted Bybit expedited discovery in its lawsuit over the $1.5 billion North Korea-linked hack, giving the exchange a way to identify intermediaries and trace remaining stolen assets. Bybit sued North Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau, the Lazarus Group, and 20 unnamed defendants under seal on June 18, and got the discovery order the next day. Bybit said 90.2% of the stolen funds had become untraceable after moving through mixers, cross-chain bridges, and OTC dealers. The remaining 9.8% was still linked to identifiable wallets, including about 5.3% of the total, or roughly $75.5 million, that had been frozen or recovered. The court also issued and later renewed a restraining order blocking transfers of certain traceable assets. The company is seeking return of the funds plus about $1.5 billion in compensatory damages, along with punitive and treble damages under RICO. The FBI has attributed the attack to North Korea.
