FBI has confirmed that North Korean hackers stole $1.5 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit on Friday in the largest crypto heist recorded until now.

The Lazarus Group, a cybercrime syndicate linked to North Korea, has long been a thorn in the side of the crypto industry. Since 2017, the group has stolen over $6 billion in digital assets, funneling the proceeds into the country’s ballistic missile program. The Bybit heist alone accounts for nearly a quarter of that total.

Last week, hackers believed to be from North Korea's notorious Lazarus Group stole $1.46bn (£1.1bn) of cryptocurrency from ByBit, a crypto trading platform. The criminals are trying to rapidly cash out the hoard through a complex online money laundering process.