North Korean cybercriminals were responsible for more than half of all cryptocurrency stolen worldwide during the first six months of 2026, underscoring the country’s continued reliance on increasingly sophisticated cyber theft despite a broader decline in overall losses, according to a new report. 

In a report published Tuesday, U.S.-Israeli blockchain security firm Blockaid estimated that North Korean-linked actors stole roughly $609 million between January and June, accounting for about 55% of the approximately $1.1 billion lost in verified cryptocurrency exploits. 

The report attributed the activity to TraderTraitor, a cryptocurrency-focused subgroup of North Korea’s Lazarus cybercrime