When crypto people talk about “illicit finance,” they tend to keep things abstract. Jessi Brooks wants to make it uncomfortably specific.
Brooks, General Counsel at Ribbit Capital and a former federal prosecutor, appeared on TRM Talks on July 1 to deliver a message the industry probably needs to hear more often: the single biggest threat to crypto security isn’t some shadowy cabal of anonymous hackers. It’s North Korea, and the money it steals goes directly toward building nuclear weapons.
The numbers behind the nightmare
TRM Labs’ mid-year data paints a picture that’s hard to ignore. North Korean-linked hackers were responsible for approximately $577 million in crypto stolen during April 2026 alone. That figure accounted for a staggering 76% of all crypto hack value recorded through that month.
Two attacks did most of the damage, both attributed to distinct subgroups of the Lazarus Group, North Korea’s infamous state-sponsored hacking operation.
