According to the source, a new report claims North Korea–linked hackers have stolen around $2 billion in crypto this year, spotlighting elevated exploit risk for DeFi protocols and cross-chain bridges. According to Chainalysis, DPRK-affiliated groups stole about $1.7 billion in 2022 and over $1.0 billion in 2023, with the majority sourced from DeFi protocol and cross-chain bridge exploits, indicating where smart-contract risk is concentrated for market participants. According to the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Tornado Cash was sanctioned in August 2022 and Sinbad was sanctioned in November 2023 for laundering DPRK proceeds, increasing enforcement and compliance risk around mixer-linked flows that can affect altcoin liquidity when tainted funds move. According to FBI, CISA, and the U.S. Treasury, the Lazarus Group uses social engineering and supply-chain compromises to breach crypto firms, underscoring persistent operational risk for centralized venues and DeFi traders. According to Chainalysis, on-chain monitoring of inflows from DPRK-labeled wallets to exchanges and mixers can flag potential cash-out activity after breaches, which traders can track as a proxy for near-term sell pressure in affected assets.