North Korea‑Linked Wallet Activity Raises Sanctions Questions for Hyperliquid’s US Expansion

Wallets associated with North Korea’s Lazarus Group transferred more than $30 million in Bitcoin (BTC) through the Hyperliquid platform over a three‑week period. The activity coincides with Hyperliquid’s push to obtain U.S. regulatory approval.

Sanctions‑related transaction flow

Blockchain analyst Emmett Gallic of Arkham identified the wallets, citing a 2024 attribution by researcher ZachXBT. The BTC was subsequently converted to Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) before being moved to centralized exchanges including Kraken, LBank and KuCoin.

Political endorsement and regulatory context

President Trump referenced Hyperliquid by name at an August White House event, crediting CFTC Chairman Michael Selig for efforts to bring the exchange into the United States in a compliant manner.

The CFTC has previously cleared a Bitcoin perpetual product on a registered exchange this year, a precedent that may influence Hyperliquid’s application.

Market reaction

Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, traded at $84, reflecting a modest 5 % gain over 24 hours. The price movement suggests that traders have not yet fully priced in the sanctions risk.

Regulatory risk assessment

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Lazarus Group in 2019. The group has been linked to major crypto thefts, including the 2022 Ronin Network breach and the 2025 Bybit hack.

Payward, the parent of Kraken, is negotiating a regulated U.S. pathway for Hyperliquid through its Bitnomial subsidiary, which secured three CFTC‑registered licenses in May.