Details have finally emerged about the $23M hack that crippled US-based crypto exchange Lykke late last year. The culprit? North Korea’s Lazarus Group, once again.
With hacks like these becoming more prevalent, the need for secure, non-custodial storage becomes increasingly necessary.
The attack, known as the largest UK-based crypto theft, took place in June 2024. It involved stolen assets across both the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks.
While the affected systems were immediately shut down to limit damage, the entire exchange was forced to discontinue its service on December 6, 2024.
The UK Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) identified the notorious state-sponsored hacking group as responsible.
Israeli research firm Whitestream also backed the UK watchdog’s findings after tracing the stolen funds through exchanges.
Life after the hack has been anything but smooth for Lykke. In January, the crypto company’s founder, Richard Olsen – a descendant of the Swiss Julius Baer banking dynasty – was declared bankrupt and placed under criminal investigation by Swiss authorities.
The hack and its aftermath highlight the vulnerabilities that crypto companies face, alongside the growing threat of hacking groups.
ByBit’s $1.4B hack accounts for the majority of losses. And yes, Lazarus was responsible.
Lazarus often carries out such scams by funneling stolen funds through Tornado Cash, a crypto mixing service designed to make it tricky to trace funds.
With attacks like these growing in scale, and Tornado Cash’s sanctioning being lifted not helping matters, secure wallets like Best Wallet are more necessary now than ever.
But there’s more to the wallet than security. It supports over 1K digital assets, soon across 60 blockchain networks. So, it’s no wonder it’s a go-to hub for managing, trading, buying, and selling crypto assets.
Better still, it has a ‘Cross-Chain Swap’ feature that connects you to 330+ decentralized exchanges and 30+ bridges. By doing so, it ensures you’re given the best rates and lowest fees when moving your crypto assets across networks.
Plus, it has a lineup of developments in the pipeline, including Best Card (its own crypto debit card), an NFT gallery, and market intel analytics.
Best Card alone should be a major boon: It’ll enable you to spend your assets directly while on the move, boosting crypto accessibility and daily use.
Lykke’s collapse underscores just how vulnerable crypto services and assets are when it comes down to sophisticated, state-backed hackers like Lazarus.
With billions worth of crypto already stolen this year alone, there’s no better time to prioritize your control and security of digital assets.
This isn’t investment advice. Always do your own research and never invest more than you’d be sad to lose
