Bybit says it recovered funds and is suing North Korea over the hack
Bybit is pursuing a civil case over the February 2025 hack and has said it recovered some of the stolen assets, according to reporting that cites the exchange’s legal move in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Bybit Sues North Korea Over $2B Hack as U.S. Court Opens Path to Track Stolen Funds #뉴스1 https://t.co/vBEAYUQLNI
— News1 Korea (@News1Eng) August 12, 2026
The case names the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau and the Lazarus Group, along with unidentified defendants holding or moving traceable funds.
One account of the case said the exchange also obtained a court order freezing assets that investigators had linked to the theft. That reported order is aimed at specific wallets and accounts rather than at North Korea as a defendant appearing in court.
The legal effort comes after the attack was widely attributed by U.S. authorities to North Korea-linked actors. Bybit’s move suggests the exchange is trying to use civil proceedings to reach funds that investigators can still trace, even after the original theft.
Recovery efforts move into the courts
The reported lawsuit follows earlier recovery efforts that focused on freezing or reclaiming identifiable assets after the breach. The broader challenge in cases like this is that the legal process often moves more slowly than stolen crypto can be transferred or laundered.
Details on the full amount recovered were not included in the material available, and it was not clear from the reporting whether the civil case has changed the overall recovery outlook beyond the assets already identified by investigators.
What is clear is that Bybit is now pairing tracing efforts with formal legal action, using the court system to target specific assets linked to the hack rather than relying only on voluntary cooperation from intermediaries.
