Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has accused USDC issuer Circle of benefiting from transactions tied to the North Korean hacking group Lazarus. The claims are serious, as Circle took 4.5 months to ban assets related to the Lazarus Group, compared to other major stablecoin issuers.
ZachXBT also chastised Circle for failing to take measures to prevent the gang from laundering money through their platform. The USDT issuer and other stablecoin issuers blacklisted two wallet addresses affiliated with the Lazarus Group, prompting the claims.
The notorious organization recently attacked the Indonesian crypto exchange Indodax, forcing the company to close its doors while the matter was investigated temporarily. Deposit, withdrawal, and staking facilities were gradually restored when the exchange resumed trading later.
ZachXBT’s investigation also found that between 2020 and 2023, North Korean hackers transferred more than $200 million into stablecoins such as USDT and USDC through multiple attacks.
Additionally, Mario Nawfal wrote on the X app that Paxos, Tether, Techteryx, and Circle froze nearly $5 million in stablecoins across two wallets tied to North Korea’s Lazarus Group following blockchain sleuth ZachXBT’s investigation.
