Crypto's Dark Mirror: How North Korea Looted $2.8 Billion While the World Slept

EDITOR'S NOTES

What if I told you that while you were praising crypto as your lifeboat away from fiat tyranny, rogue states were bleeding the system dry—and no one could stop them? North Korea just looted nearly $3 billion in crypto through digital sleight-of-hand. This isn’t just a cybercrime story. It’s a wake-up call about the Achilles’ heel of digital assets. Unlike gold or ammo, you can’t stash Bitcoin in a hidden basement when hackers—or governments—come knocking. The same infrastructure that liberates us from the dollar prison can also be turned into a weapon by state actors. And guess what? No one’s coming to save you.

Derek Wolfe Oct 28, 25

Digital Plunder on a Global Scale

Let me break it down for you in plain, uncomfortable truth: North Korea has siphoned off $2.837 billion in Bitcoin and crypto assets over just 21 months. That’s not a typo. That’s what happens when a weaponized state runs circles around bloated bureaucracies and sleepy cybersecurity “experts.”

The Digital Hit Squad: TraderTraitor and CryptoCore

According to a fresh report from the UN’s Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team—yeah, the same institution that usually can’t find its own shoelaces—this heist wasn’t the work of some neckbeard in a basement. These were state-backed cyber hit squads, specifically TraderTraitor and CryptoCore, operating under the Reconnaissance General Bureau. In other words, this wasn’t a hack—it was digital warfare.

Their Weapons of Choice: Malware, Phishing, Rigged Contracts

They used every trick in the spook playbook: spear-phishing, supply chain attacks, malicious smart contracts. They even rigged fake job interviews to breach Japan’s DMM Bitcoin and swiped $308 million. Over in India, they hit WazirX for $235 million. These aren’t petty thefts. This is a redistribution of wealth on a geopolitical scale.

2025: The Year Crypto Security Collapsed

2024 was bad—$1.19 billion stolen—but 2025 turned apocalyptic. $1.65 billion gone by September, including a catastrophic $1.46 billion breach at Bybit. And just to twist the knife, those funds were already laundered into fiat through brokers in Russia and China before anyone could say “cold wallet.”

Your Digital Fortress Isn’t Invincible

Here’s the kicker: The very system that promises decentralization and freedom is now a battlefield where the highest bidder—or the most ruthless regime—can win. You think your hardware wallet will protect you when a nation-state hijacks the protocol layer or bribes the devs behind your favorite chain?

Let this be your wake-up call: crypto isn’t safe just because it’s not fiat. It’s different, not invulnerable. It might shield you from central banks, but it opens you up to something far more unpredictable—rogue code, compromised contracts, and ghost states with no rules.

Don't Fall for the “More Regulation” Trap

And if you think the answer is more regulation? That’s the trap. The same globalist machine that wants to surveil every financial move you make is using these crises to push for tighter controls, CBDCs, and backdoors into your wallets “for your protection.” The FedNow beast is already licking its lips.

What You Can Do

Don’t be a sitting duck. Diversify into real, physical assets. Ammunition. Food. Land. Gold. Things you can touch. Things you can trade offline. And most importantly, download “Seven Steps to Protect Yourself from Bank Failure” by Bill Brocius—this guide is no-nonsense, actionable, and critical.

Download Here – Don’t Wait

The future isn’t digital—it’s resilient. Choose wisely.

—Derek Wolfe