The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has become the world's third largest holder of bitcoin after the US and the UK. The hacker group Lazarus, which is linked to the DPRK government, holds 13,580 bitcoins worth £886 million pounds (about $1.14 billion), The New York Times reports.

Arkham Intelligence, a US company that uses artificial intelligence to identify owners of anonymous cryptocurrency assets, notes that Pyongyang has significantly increased its holdings after a record theft last month. According to Wu Blockchain, the increase occurred after an attack on the Bybit crypto exchange, in which hackers converted stolen Ethereum into Bitcoin.

North Korea has overtaken El Salvador with 6,117 coins and Bhutan with 10,635 BTC in Bitcoin reserves. Only the United States with 198,109 bitcoins and the United Kingdom with 61,245 coins remain ahead of the DPRK. At the same time, the EU is not yet interested in reserves consisting of cryptocurrencies, ECB President Christine Lagarde noted at the end of January.

Unlike El Salvador, which has officially adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, North Korea uses cryptocurrency to circumvent international sanctions. Cryptocurrency market experts link the activity of North Korean hackers to the regime's attempts to finance state programs.

The US and UK governments received their bitcoins by confiscating funds belonging to criminals.

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Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said the purchase brought the firm's Bitcoin holdings to 3,200 BTC, worth more than $266 million. Inspired by the strategy of US company Strategy, Metaplanet has bet on Bitcoin as a key reserve asset, which has already brought the company significant results, Gerovich said.

Since April 2024, when the Japanese company adopted the “bitcoin standard,” Metaplanet has been acquiring BTC at an average price of $82,100 per coin. As of March 18, these assets have provided a return of 60.8% since the beginning of the year, which has brought the company into the top 10 public holders of bitcoin in the world. Metaplanet’s market capitalization has grown by 7,000% in a year, and the number of shareholders has exceeded 50 thousand.

The head of Metaplanet said that the company's plans for 2025-2026 include increasing the bitcoin portfolio to 10 thousand coins by the end of 2025 and 21 thousand by the end of 2026. To do this, Metaplanet intends to raise about $750 million by selling 21 million shares of the company, which will be the largest capital raising for the purchase of bitcoins in Asia. In addition, the company is considering listing on American exchanges such as NYSE and Nasdaq to expand the availability of its shares to global investors.

Recently, Strategy, founded by businessman Michael Saylor, reported the purchase of 130 bitcoins for $10.7 million. According to the company's data, it currently holds 499,226 bitcoins. This is approximately 2.52% of the entire supply of the first cryptocurrency by capitalization. Strategy spent $33.1 billion on the purchase of bitcoins at an average price of $66,360 per coin.

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According to the company's data, it currently holds 499,226 bitcoins (approximately 2.52% of the total asset issue). Strategy spent $33.1 billion to purchase the first cryptocurrency, with an average price of $66,360 per 1 BTC .

Strategy finances its cryptocurrency purchases by issuing convertible bonds that can be exchanged for company shares (ticker MSTR) at a high premium (up to 40-50%). These bonds attract investors who are counting on the growth of the securities or inflation protection through bitcoin.

Strategy has reported bitcoin purchases weekly in recent months, but did not make any additional purchases in late February and early March. The last known purchase was made between February 17 and 23, when Strategy purchased 20,356 bitcoins for $1.99 billion at an average price of $97,514 per coin.

Strategy previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue Perpetual Strike Series A shares valued at $21 billion.

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