ZachXBT Uncovers Major North Korean Network Targeting Crypto Firms

• On-chain analyst ZachXBT uncovers a major North Korean network among crypto firm employees. 
• Cryptocurrency scams have shown a rise in the past few months.

Crypto platforms’ vulnerability to scams has been the emphasis over the past few months, with the sector reporting several major incidents since H1 2024. The global crypto sector has taken measures to enhance security in the recent past amid rising scams. Notably, in the last 24 hours, on-chain analyst ZachXBT reported discovering a DPRK network of developers employed in 25+ crypto projects. 

Moreover, ZachXBT’s X post stated that when investigating a particular team’s loss of $1.3 million, he discovered their employing multiple DPRK IT workers. These developers were using fake identities. Further investigations led to the aforementioned findings and believe that developers were connected to several crypto scams. 

ZachXBT stated in his X post: 

“I then uncovered 25+ crypto projects with related devs that have been active since June 2024.” 

On delving into the details of the theft, ZachXBT was able to outline the scammers’ path. The alleged scammers first transferred the $1.3 million to a theft address – “6USfQ”. Following this, they bridged the funds from Solana to Ethereum via cross-chaining DApp deBridge. They then transferred the funds in the form of ETH to Tornado Cash and other exchanges. 

Who are these North Korean Devs Targeting Crypto Projects?  

The on-chain sleuth tracked 21 different developers’ addresses and mapped out a cluster of transactions, which unearthed the movement of $1.3 million in funds. He also posted a list of the North Korean employees suspected to be connected to the network. 

Additionally, the developers were found to have received payments from an exchange deposit from 2023-2024. This exchange deposit holds connections with Sim Hyon Sop who is known to be sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). 

Moreover, the exchange deposit received $5.5 million in funds prior to the above incidents. Following this, another firm identified employing one of the North Korean developers from ZachXBT’s list. 

Relatedly, at the beginning of August, Chainalysis uncovered a crypto scam involving 2000 wallets in Australia. 

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