North Korea’s Lazarus Group Surpasses Tesla in Bitcoin Assets
The Lazarus Group, a notorious North Korean state-backed hacker organization, currently owns more Bitcoin (BTC) than Tesla (TSLA), according to data from Arkham Intelligence.
This development comes as former US President Donald Trump pushes for America to become the global leader in cryptocurrency adoption.
At press time, Lazarus controls 13,441 BTC worth $1.14 billion, surpassing Tesla’s holdings of 11,509 BTC by 16%.
Elon Musk-led Tesla first acquired Bitcoin holdings four years ago and has maintained its position as one of the largest institutional BTC holders.
Lazarus Group has been involved in several high-profile cyber heists, and its most recent attack targeted crypto exchange Bybit, where hackers dumped $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum (ETH).
Reports indicate that the stolen funds have since been converted to Bitcoin, with 12,836 BTC distributed across 9,117 unique wallets, as confirmed by Bybit CEO Ben Zhou.
The revelation that a North Korean hacking group holds more Bitcoin than one of America’s most influential tech companies comes amid Trump’s renewed pro-crypto stance. On Thursday, Trump reiterated his plan to make the United States “the undisputed Bitcoin superpower and the crypto capital of the world.”
Meanwhile, the US government currently holds 198,109 BTC worth over $16 billion obtained through enforcement actions.
Trump recently announced that these assets would be considered part of the country’s strategic reserves, signaling a potential shift in how Bitcoin is viewed at the federal level.
With the evolving geopolitical and institutional landscape, it remains to be seen whether Tesla or other major U.S. companies will respond to being outmaneuvered by a North Korean hacker syndicate in the Bitcoin market.
This is not investment advice.