Wallets linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group have sold more than $30 million in Bitcoin through Hyperliquid over three weeks as U.S. officials and Payward explore regulated access to the platform.
Lazarus-Linked Wallets Convert Bitcoin to ETH and SOL
Arkham blockchain data showed wallets associated with the North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus Group sold more than $30 million in Bitcoin on Hyperliquid during the past three weeks. The wallets used proceeds from the Bitcoin sales to purchase Ethereum and Solana before sending the assets to centralized exchanges, including Kraken, LBank, and KuCoin. Crypto investigator ZachXBT first identified the addresses in 2024, while Arkham later labeled them as connected to Lazarus.
US Sanctions Questions for Hyperliquid
The reported transfers carry a direct U.S. angle because the Treasury Department has sanctioned Lazarus Group and identified it as a cyber organization controlled by North Korea's government. U.S. authorities have linked Lazarus to several digital-asset thefts, including the $625 million Ronin Network attack in 2022. Using a decentralized venue can complicate enforcement because Hyperliquid allows users to connect a wallet and trade without opening a traditional brokerage account. The protocol's public blockchain still records transactions, allowing firms such as Arkham to trace transfers between labeled addresses.
Payward Discusses Regulated Hyperliquid Access
Bloomberg reported that Kraken parent Payward is in advanced discussions with Hyperliquid Labs over offering selected perpetual contracts to American traders through Bitnomial, its CFTC-regulated derivatives business. People familiar with the talks said Payward had presented the CFTC with an outline of the proposed structure. President Donald Trump brought the possible U.S. entry into public view during an Aug. 19 White House event, saying the regulator was working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a "fully compliant and legal fashion."
Hyperliquid Leads Decentralized Perpetual Trading
Hyperliquid has processed $5.19 trillion in cumulative perpetual trading volume, according to DefiLlama. The protocol operates its principal exchange through HyperCore, an on-chain trading system handling order matching, margin calculations and liquidations. A Payward arrangement would give eligible U.S. customers access through a registered operator rather than through Hyperliquid's permissionless interface. Payward completed its Bitnomial purchase in May, gaining control of a designated contract market, derivatives clearing organization and futures commission merchant under CFTC oversight.
