North Korea, helped by the infamous hacking syndicate Lazarus Group, has quietly become one of the biggest holders of Bitcoin BTC/USD.

What Happened: The attacker possessed around 13,518 BTCs as of this writing, worth $1.16 billion, according to on-chain analytics platform Arkham. The stash was worth more than twice the amount held by El Salvador, the widely known Bitcoin-friendly nation.

Lazarus Group’s BTC stockpile has soared dramatically since its massive $1.4 billion Ethereum ETH/USD hack on the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit.

Before Feb. 22, the syndicate owned 778 BTCs, which surged to approximately 14,000 by Mar. 4, suggesting that it laundered stolen funds into Bitcoin.

See Also: House Committee Favors Stablecoin Regulation To ‘Strengthen’ Dollar: Majority Whip Says CBDCs Against ‘American Values’

Why It Matters: The Lazarus Group, a collective of North Korean state-sponsored crypto hackers, is considered one of the most sophisticated on-chain operators globally.

U.S.-based agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation have raised alarms about the infiltration tactics employed by North Korean hackers to steal blue-chip cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The U.S. government has also claimed that the illegal proceeds from the thefts are used to fund North Korea’s weapons and missile program.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $83,644.48, down 0.75% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Image via Shutterstock

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.