Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis used in-house AI to help trace $387 million stolen from crypto exchange Bitget to North Korea-linked actors, Decrypt reported. The firm said the Sept. 24 breach lifted North Korea-linked crypto thefts above $1 billion in 2026.
Within three hours, the funds moved through 23 transfers across Ethereum, XRP, Zcash and Tron. Chainalysis said its automation reduced more than 20 hours of manual bridge reconciliation to under 10 minutes, while investigators continued directing the work.
The attackers moved XRP through a cross-chain liquidity protocol into Bitcoin, while some stolen funds entered Zcash’s shielded pool. Circle and Tether froze about $318,000 in stablecoins.
The DeAI angle: The case shows how AI tools can simplify blockchain tracing, offering another example of how the transparency of distributed ledgers can make them well suited to machine analysis, especially after a major hack.