Crypto Chronicles:Hackers

1-Does Bitcoin threaten a ‘nuclear holocaust’?

Recent media coverage has focused on Lazarus Group. Arkham Intelligence estimates Lazarus Group has $1.14 billion in BTC as of Mar. 17, 2025. Lazarus Group just turned stolen ETH into bitcoins. After the Bybit hack and money laundering operation, the DPRK probably has 13,518 BTC. BTC holdings rank the nation behind the U.S., China, UK, and Ukraine, ahead of Bhutan and El Salvador.

After consulting with authorities, OKX suspended their DEX aggregator the same day. Exchange personnel reported a concerted Lazarus Group effort to access the DEX aggregator. Bloomberg reported on Mar. 11 that EU authorities were investigating OKX web3 services for the Bybit breach and money-laundering.

On March 10, 2025, The Socket Research Team disclosed that Lazarus Group entered the npm ecosystem with six BeaverTail malware packages to steal passwords, harvest bitcoin data, hijack developer spaces, and execute other malicious activities. Package names resemble trusted libraries. Five more packages are on GitHub.

Elliptic said that North Korean hackers stole $1.4 billion in crypto from Bybit on Feb. 21, the largest crime in history.

A much is unknown about the Lazarus Group. First cyber offenses by the gang date back to 2009. Lazarus Group (APT38) is an advanced persistent threat. It threatens global cybersecurity while utilizing stolen riches to fix North Korea's sanctions-damaged economy.

In the beginning, the gang targeted big banks. During the 2017 WannaCry attack by Lazarus Group, hackers sought BTC. Lazarus switched to crypto the same year. The initial targets were U.S. and South Korean bitcoin exchanges.

Hackers stole crypto from Nicehash, Bithumb, and Youbit in 2017. In 2022, Lazarus hackers stole $615 million in Ronin Network coins. Over 17% of 2023 crypto thefts were Lazarus hacks. Lazarus Group's newest crypto exchange attacks were WarziX and Bybit.

Lazarus Group is unique since the government supports it, which is against most nations. Lazarus Group assaults harmed the U.S., China, Russia, South Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, and others.

The government seems to assist these hackers, so their illegal activity is not prosecuted in their native country. Since North Korea controls the Internet, the hacking group's conduct is likely government-sponsored.

Pyongyang cares less about its worldwide standing than Moscow. This offers hackers carte blanche and empowers them to behave irresponsibly. China and North Korean colleges train hackers.

The 2017 WannaCry assault was motivated by fear and turmoil in other nations rather than money. Later crypto platform assaults took enormous sums of money. This money likely fills North Korea's fiscal gaps.

2-UAE's Fasset and Indonesian charity platform enable crypto contributions

Dubai-based crypto trading platform Fasset announced a crypto zakat service cooperation with Salam Setara Amil Zakat Institution, Kitabisa's zakat distribution partner, in a press release to crypto.news. Fasset users may now donate religiously using USDT for the first time in Indonesia.

On March 18, the firm's regional office in Sudirman, Central Jakarta, Indonesia signed a Memorandum of Understanding beginning the relationship. This cooperation intends to promote blockchain technology in Islamic banking.

According to 2023 civil register statistics, 87.06% of Indonesians were Muslims, making it one of the world's biggest Muslim populations. Many Muslim Indonesians feel compelled to give back during Ramadan. One approach is by performing zakat.

Muslims must offer a tiny amount of their money to the needy each year as zakat. One of the Five Pillars of Islam, it purifies wealth and promotes justice.

By 2025, Baznas RI, Indonesia's national zakat agency, hopes to raise Rp50 trillion ($3 billion) in Islamic contribution money to boost the economy.

Thus, Fasset and Salam Setara Amanah Nusantara believe blockchain technology may enhance the digital zakat ecosystem and make crypto contributions simpler in Indonesia.

Country Director of Fasset Indonesia, Putri Madarina, said the company's crypto zakat project is being launched initially in Indonesia but will grow internationally to allow more crypto zakat payments.

“This is a strategic move to incorporate technology into social worship, especially during Ramadan. We believe this project will inspire digital-based Islamic financial inclusion in Indonesia,” Madarina said, adding that the firm will develop more fintech innovations.

Excited with the relationship, Kitabisa CEO Vikra Ijaz said it could use “technological advancements to enhance zakat literacy for the Indonesian community.”

“We hope this initiative can optimize zakat's potential in Indonesia, helping us achieve our shared goal of reducing poverty through innovative and sustainable management,” Ijas added.

Crypto investors in Indonesia number 22.9 million, according to the Financial Services Authority. About 62% of crypto users in the nation aged 18–30. There is desire for expanded crypto use, particularly among younger people.

The group has multiple skill components. According to the NCC Group research, hackers use a variety of tools and take their time to avoid detection. Lazarus Group focuses on social engineering and large-scale phishing.

The UN research estimates that government-backed hackers create half of North Korea's foreign revenue. These monies are purportedly utilized for ballistic missile development. The story quoted an unidentified source who indicated 40% of WMD research is financed by cybercrime.

North Korea keeps testing ballistic missiles. In 2023, it tested Hwasong18, a multi-warhead rocket that could travel over 15,000 km. 2022 saw record rocket launches. Nearly 90. The 2017 nuclear bomb test was the latest. Between 50 and 100 bombs are in the nation.

Nuclear War: A Scenario was published last year by American writer Annie Jacobsen. The book is based on interviews with retired U.S. nuclear protocol experts. It explains what occurs if North Korea bombs the U.S. Jacobsen predicts that all nuclear nations would trade strikes in three phases of 24 minutes each, causing mankind to face near-extinction in many years of starvation and nuclear winter.

3-CryptoQuant CEO: Whale activity may reduce Bitcoin prices after its bull cycle.

The Chief Executive Officer of CryptoQuant, Ki Young Ju, recently made a prediction in a post that Bitcoin would see "bearish or sideways price action" during the next six to twelve months. In order to provide evidence in favor of his thesis, Ju presented a historical chart that illustrates the cyclical indications presented by Bitcoin's profit and loss index beginning in 2014 and continuing through 2024.

The price of Bitcoin has decreased by almost 0.8% throughout the course of the last twenty-four hours of trade. According to information provided by crypto.news, the cryptocurrency with the highest market cap for the time being is now changing hands for $82,752. Bitcoin has been on a downward trend over the previous month, with a 15% decrease in value.

Reference

https://crypto.news/does-bitcoin-bring-us-closer-to-a-nuclear-holocaust/

https://crypto.news/cryptoquant-ceo-bitcoins-bull-cycle-is-over-prices-could-fall-lower-due-to-whale-action/

https://crypto.news/uaes-fasset-collaborates-with-indonesian-charity-platform-to-facilitate-crypto-donations/