North Korea, Iran Drive 420% Surge in Onchain Malware: Chainalysis

State-sponsored hackers from North Korea and Iran are responsible for the majority of a staggering 420% surge in onchain malware this year, according to a Chainalysis report. State-linked groups accounted for roughly two-thirds of new activity in which attackers stored malware instructions and infrastructure information directly on public blockchains. Chainalysis identified UNC5342, a North Korea-linked cluster, tied to previously unattributed activity spanning Tron, Aptos, and BNB Smart Chain. The report noted that leveraging public blockchains increases malware campaign durability, since stored data remains accessible even after domains, servers, or code repositories are taken down. In 2025, North Korean hackers deployed a similar technique called EtherHiding, embedding crypto-stealing code into smart contracts.

North Korea is now routing remote workers from third countries including Iran and Lebanon through US job interviews, after which North Korean operatives take over the positions to infiltrate American companies and funnel proceeds into weapons programs, according to NBC News. Meanwhile, South Korean police have referred 18 Polymarket users to prosecutors as part of an illegal gambling investigation that identified 26 users total through onchain analysis. The users collectively wagered approximately 17.6 billion won ($12.7 million) on the prediction market, which does not collect real names or verify identities. Authorities classified Polymarket transactions as illegal gambling under South Korea's Criminal Act, citing the staking of assets on inherently uncertain outcomes.

In corporate crypto news, Japan's Metaplanet has slashed its Series 10 stock pool by 41%, reducing potential shares underlying warrants from 319.464 million to 188.19 million and resetting the conversion ratio to pre-September 2025 levels. The move extinguishes more than $220 million in warrant value and increases the company's Bitcoin per fully diluted share by approximately 8.8%. Metaplanet also announced plans to establish a Hong Kong subsidiary, signaling continued expansion of its Bitcoin treasury strategy in Asia.