North Korea linked to 89% of 2026 crypto hack losses, Chainalysis says

North Korea-linked hackers have accounted for nearly 89% of reported cryptocurrency hack losses in 2026, according to Chainalysis, as Pyongyang has dismissed international sanctions targeting its revenue and weapons programs. Summary Suspected North Korea-linked attacks account for nearly 89% of reported crypto hack losses this year. Average losses per suspected DPRK-linked hack reached $185.65 million, compared with $50.65 million in 2021. Investigators linked Binance’s stolen funds to assets taken in September’s North Korea-attributed Bitget attack. Pyongyang rejected a multinational sanctions statement addressing overseas workers, cyber activities and military cooperation. Chainalysis published the figures on Oct. 30, drawing on reported losses through Oct. 29. Across the period beginning in 2021, suspected North Korean operations accounted for $13.24 billion of $22.34 billion in reported cryptocurrency hack losses, or roughly 59%. The latest annual share compares with 15% in 2021. Calculated from the published percentages, the difference is 74 percentage points, while the average reported loss per suspected North Korea-linked attack is approximately 3.7 times its 2021 level. No...