TOKYO: Hacker groups affiliated with North Korea have stolen $721 million worth of cryptocurrency assets from Japan since 2017, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday, citing a study by UK blockchain analysis provider Elliptic.

The amount is equal to 30 per cent of the total of such losses globally, the Nikkei reported.

The report comes after Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors said in a statement on Saturday that they support measures to counter growing threats from illicit activities by state actors, such as the theft of crypto-assets.

According to Elliptic, which conducted the analysis on behalf of the Japanese newspaper, North Korea has stolen a total of $2.3 billion in cryptocurrency from businesses between 2017 and 2022.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2023