Why North Korea Is Winning Crypto Crime and How to Fight Back | Ari Redbord, TRM Labs

North Korea isn’t just hacking crypto anymore, it’s studying it, infiltrating it, and turning DeFi’s weakest links into a state-run revenue machine. This time around, Ryan and David sit down with Ari Redbord of TRM Labs to unpack the Drift hack, the $6B DPRK crypto crime machine, how stolen funds move through THORChain, Bitcoin, OTC desks, and Chinese laundering networks, and why the fightback may require everything from better DeFi security to real-time Beacon alerts and offensive cyber.

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🎬 DEBRIEF | RYAN & DAVID BREAKDOWN THE EPISODE
https://www.bankless.com/podcast/debrief-why-north-korea-is-winning-crypto-crime-and-how-to-fight-back-ari-redbord-trm-labs

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
2:16 The Drift Hack
5:15 Human Weak Points
11:16 The DPRK Hacker Network
14:56 The $6B Machine
20:32 Fighting Back
28:11 Seizures and Victims
38:58 Inside TRM Labs
47:01 Laundering Rails
52:51 The Beacon Network
58:06 Privacy vs Security
1:10:20 Code and Crime
1:14:49 Iran on Tron
1:22:55 Bitcoin and Power
1:28:49 Hardening DeFi

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RESOURCES

Ari Redbord
https://x.com/ARedbord

TRM Labs
https://www.trmlabs.com/

TRM’s DPRK Report
https://www.trmlabs.com/r