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. --- 🎬 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 --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast 🟦 COINBASE ONE | GET 20% OFF https://bankless.cc/coinbase-one 🧭OKX | TRADE, EARN, PAY to OKX | 120M+ USERS WORLDWIDE https://app.okx.com/join/USBANKLESS 🦊 METAMASK | DOWNLOAD NOW https://go.metamask.io/BL-Pod-Download 🌐BRIX | EMERGING MARKET YIELD https://bankless.cc/brix 💰NEXO | Get your 30-day access to Wealth Club Premier https://bankless.cc/nexo --- 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 --- RESOURCES Ari Redbord https://x.com/ARedbord TRM Labs https://www.trmlabs.com/ TRM’s DPRK Report https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/north-korea-stole-76-of-all-crypto-hack-value-in-2026-with-just-two-attacks Ari’s Homeland Security Testimony https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/119126/witnesses/HHRG-119-HM11-Wstate-RedbordA-20260421.pdf --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures