Bybit has filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against North Korea, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, and the Lazarus Group over the roughly $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft that took place in February 2025. A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction barring the transfer or disposal of identified stolen assets while the case is pending, and found that Bybit is likely to prevail on the merits, the exchange said. The lawsuit also names unknown individuals and entities that hold or transferred the relevant funds as John Doe defendants. Bybit disclosed that about $48.4 million of the stolen funds have been recovered, and roughly $30.5 million have been frozen across more than 28 exchanges and custodians. Combined, the two figures account for about 5% of the stolen amount. Attackers moved approximately 500,000 ETH out of Bybit's cold wallet in February 2025; most of the funds were subsequently swapped into bitcoin via Thorchain and routed through mixing services. Bybit said the civil case is being pursued in parallel with criminal investigations.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against North Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau, and the hacker group Lazarus Group over the roughly $1.5 billion theft that occurred in February 2025.
A federal judge has approved a preliminary injunction that bars the transfer or disposal of identified stolen assets while the case proceeds, and found that Bybit is likely to succeed on the merits, the exchange said. The lawsuit also lists unnamed individuals and entities holding or moving the funds as John Doe defendants.
Bybit said about $48.4 million has been recovered so far, while roughly $30.5 million has been frozen across more than 28 exchanges and custodians. Together, those amounts represent about 5% of the stolen funds.
In February 2025, attackers pulled about 500,000 ETH from Bybit's cold wallet. Most of the funds were later converted into bitcoin through Thorchain and moved via mixing services, according to Bybit. The exchange said the civil case is running alongside criminal investigations.
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