G7 Says "Do Something" About North Korean Crypto Heists, Doesn't Say What 😅

Group of Seven leaders meeting in Évian-les-Bains, France this week renewed their call for joint action against North Korean cryptocurrency thefts and cybercrime, without specifying what joint action should entail. The leaders expressed "deep concern" over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which the United Nations and security researchers have linked to proceeds from crypto thefts. The statement did not reference exchange screening, sanctions, or enforcement against mixing services commonly discussed in connection with North Korean laundering operations.

The G7 referenced North Korean crypto thefts after its June 2025 summit in Canada, when the group's chair called on members to jointly address "DPRK cryptocurrency thefts fueling" the country's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The renewed call arrives amid a series of high-profile exploits with suspected North Korean links, including the roughly $285 million Drift Protocol exploit in April and the $36 million Humanity Protocol breach in June. Chainalysis data shows North Korean hackers stole at least $2 billion in crypto in 2025, bringing the all-time total attributed to DPRK-affiliated actors to at least $6.75 billion.

Chainalysis said the hackers generated larger returns last year despite carrying out fewer confirmed attacks, frequently by embedding information technology workers inside crypto firms or impersonating recruiters and investors to obtain internal system access. On May 15, a CrowdStrike report described North Korean actors as the largest threat group targeting crypto users by value stolen, with proceeds "almost certainly laundered to fund the regime's military programs." CertiK has separately characterized North Korea as having "industrialized" crypto theft and laundered billions through the proceeds.

North Korea has rejected the allegations. In a May 3 statement published by state news agency KCNA, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson accused the United States of spreading false information and dismissed claims of a North Korean cyber threat as politically motivated "slander."