Kathmandu. A notorious North Korean hacking group is suspected to have stolen nearly $300 million worth of cryptocurrency, amid a serious threat to global cybersecurity.

According to those affected, this incident is one of the biggest known crypto robberies of this year, which has raised new questions about the security of the digital financial system.

The incident is being seen as the latest cyberattack linked to North Korea. According to a UN panel, North Korea has been using stolen cryptocurrency to support its nuclear weapons program through sophisticated cybercrimes.

The theft in the vault of online investment platform KelpDAO on Saturday was the biggest crypto exploit of 2026, according to digital currency news platform CoinDesk. According to details released on Tuesday, the hack involved unauthorized access to two blockchain servers operated by technology platform LayerZero.

According to KelpDAO, this access made it possible to “withdraw” crypto tokens associated with Ethereum from the system. LayerZero confirmed in a statement that the damage was approximately $290 million on April 18, 2026.

Early indications suggest a highly sophisticated state-backed group was involved, suggesting that North Korea’s Lazarus group may have been responsible. However, the company has tried to assure that other assets or systems of the users have not been affected.

Blockchain technology allows transactions to be done without intermediaries, such as the government or banks, which is called decentralized finance (DeFi). But experts say that the complexity of this structure makes it difficult to identify and control such cyber attacks.

According to Henry Arslanian, co-founder of Nine Block Capital Management, such a phenomenon makes new users even more afraid to enter the DeFi space. He claimed that the attack was the work of North Korea’s Lazarus group, which said that only a few groups in the world have the ability to carry out such a level of hacking.

A United Nations study in 2024 estimated that North Korea had stolen more than $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency since 2017. Last year, the US accused North Korea of stealing $1.5 billion worth of digital assets, in what is considered to be one of the biggest crypto robberies in history.

These recurring incidents have intensified the international debate on cybersecurity and raised concerns about the future of the digital economy.