UK Treasury Don Link Lazarus Group to $23M Lykke Exchange Hack
UK Treasury OFSI don officially talk say di June 2024 hack wey happen for US-based Lykke exchange na North Korea state sponsored Lazarus Group cause am. Di attack carry go $23 million worth Bitcoin and Ethereum, wey make Lykke exchange stop work and later enter liquidation afta user dem loss pass £5.7 million. Di founder Richard Olsen don declare bankrupt and dem dey do criminal investigation for Switzerland. Blockchain analyst dem for Whitestream follow di stolen money waka through Tornado Cash, show how mixing service dem dey help for laundering. Dis kain wahala na part of bigger crypto theft increase, pass $2.17 billion don lost for first half of 2025, led by di $1.4 billion Bybit hack and Lazarus own $3.2 million Solana heist. Di incident dey show say security and self custody for crypto trading matter well well. Traders dey more and more dey use non-custodial wallet dem, wey let users hold their private keys alone to reduce risk from platform hack dem.
Bearish
Di as we confirm say Lazarus Group bin hack Lykke exchange put $23 million, e dey shake confidence for centralized platforms, e dey raise security wahala for traders dem mind. Dem earlier Mt. Gox and Bitfinex hacks bin cause short-short price drop plus liquidity shift as people dey find safer custody ways. This new hack add join the $2.17 billion wey happen for first half 2025, e show say wahala still dey. For short time, market people fit reduce how dem dey expose to counterparty, fit cause small slow down for trading volume for centralized exchanges. For long term, this event fit speed up how people go dey use non-custodial wallets and decentralized platform dem, e go change liquidity matter plus make the environment more security conscious. Overall, the bad vibes and more fear to take risk mean crypto markets fit get bearish pressure.