North Korea stunned the cryptocurrency industry with its record $1.46 billion heist from Dubai-based exchange Bybit in late February — and in the process set off a frantic race to recover the proceeds before its cybercriminals can cash out.

The DPRK’s Lazarus Group acted quickly to convert its massive haul and transferred stolen tokens to thousands of wallet addresses, setting the stage for a second phase focusing on making the funds harder to track.

But the blockchain industry has also mobilized an unprecedented effort to recover the stolen assets, adopting a collaborative approach beyond anything that