North Korean cybercriminals have stolen $643 million so far this year, leading the way for global cryptocurrency theft as actors worldwide carried out a record number of heists — but reduced losses — in the first half of 2026.

Pyongyang’s virtual currency haul was largely driven by the theft of approximately $577 million combined from Drift Protocol and KelpDAO attacks in April, the U.S. blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs said in a report published Wednesday.

The attacks on the two decentralized finance platforms— so far the biggest heists this year — underscored Pyongyang’s focus on targeting large cryptocurrency services,