North Korea’s £17M Crypto Heist Forces UK Startup Lykke to Shut Down

Another day, another crypto hack—but this one’s got state-sponsored fingerprints all over it. North Korea just added £17 million to its cyberwarfare piggy bank by allegedly draining Swiss-based UK startup Lykke dry. Who needs nukes when you’ve got hackers?

The Attack: How It Went Down

No fancy zero-day exploits here—just old-fashioned social engineering and infrastructure breaches. The Lazarus Group (Pyongyang’s favorite IT department) reportedly bypassed Lykke’s security like a hot knife through butter. Cue the ‘hardware wallet evangelists’ smugly nodding.

The Aftermath: Startup Carnage

Lykke didn’t just lose funds—it lost the ability to operate. The £17 million theft forced immediate insolvency, proving yet again that ‘self-custody’ isn’t just a buzzword. Meanwhile, three-letter agencies are ‘monitoring the situation’ (i.e., writing strongly worded memos no one will read).

The Irony: Crypto’s Security Paradox

Decentralization evangelists love touting crypto’s resilience… until a nation-state actor treats their protocol like an ATM. Maybe next time founders will spend less on metaverse office decor and more on cybersecurity audits. Nah—who are we kidding?

TLDR

• Lazarus hackers allegedly stole £17m in Bitcoin and Ethereum from UK-based Lykke.

• Lykke was forced to halt operations after the cryptocurrency theft.

• OFSI named North Korea as potential cyber attacker in its Treasury report.

• Lykke’s founder Richard Olsen declared bankrupt and under Swiss criminal investigation.

The UK cryptocurrency company Lykke has been accused of losing £17m to hackers believed to be linked to North Korea. The Lazarus cyber gang is the suspected culprit behind the theft.

The attack is said to have targeted Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. If confirmed, this would be North Korea’s largest known crypto heist involving a British firm.

Lykke Collapse and Financial Struggles

Lykke, founded in 2015, operated from Switzerland but was registered in the United Kingdom. The company froze trading after the hack and announced its closure last December.

In March 2025, a UK judge ordered the company to be liquidated following legal claims by over 70 affected users. The winding-up petition sought to recover £5.7m lost by customers. The UK Treasury said its Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) attributed the attack to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea cyber actors. The OFSI did not disclose the sources of its information.

Whitestream, an Israeli crypto research company, also linked the hack to Lazarus. It stated the stolen funds were laundered through two other cryptocurrency firms. Some researchers, however, have said it remains unclear who was responsible.

Founder’s Financial and Legal Status

Richard Olsen, the founder and a descendant of Swiss banking patriarch Julius Baer, faced bankruptcy in January. Swiss authorities are investigating him, according to British legal filings.

Lykke had offered zero-fee cryptocurrency trading from its base in Zug, Switzerland, also known as “crypto valley.” The company’s UK registration and FCA warning in 2023 noted it was not authorized to offer financial services to British consumers.

Interpath Advisory has been appointed to distribute remaining funds to affected customers. Lykke’s Swiss parent company was placed into liquidation last year.

Authorities continue to monitor cryptocurrency transfers and track stolen funds. The alleged involvement of North Korean cyber actors underscores ongoing international concerns about state-linked hacking and the use of cryptocurrency for illicit activities.