The post Ethereum Foundation-funded project exposes 100 DPRK developers operating in crypto appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

A six-month investigation backed by the Ethereum Foundation has uncovered how North Korean operatives quietly embedded themselves inside dozens of Web3 teams under false identities. Summary Ethereum Foundation backed a six-month probe that identified 100 North Korean operatives inside Web3 firms. Ketman Project alerted 53 crypto teams after tracing fake developer identities and suspicious GitHub activity. Investigators linked the pattern to long-running DPRK infiltration tied to major exploits involving the Lazarus Group. The Ethereum Foundation said Thursday that its ETH Rangers initiative funded a security-focused effort that identified 100 individuals linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea operating within crypto companies. The program, launched in late 2024, was designed to support public goods work through stipends for independent researchers. One of those recipients used the funding to launch the Ketman Project, which focused on tracking “fake developers” working inside Web3 organizations. Over the six-month period, the project flagged 100 suspected DPRK IT workers and reached out to 53 crypto projects that may have unknowingly employed them. “This work directly addresses one of the most pressing operational security threats facing the Ethereum ecosystem today,” the foundation said. Findings add to a growing body of evidence showing that North Korean-linked developers have spent years embedding themselves across the crypto industry, often blending into teams through credible technical contributions and fabricated professional identities. Security researcher and MetaMask developer Taylor Monahan has previously said such activity dates back to the early DeFi era, with DPRK-linked developers contributing to widely used protocols. “Lots of DPRK IT workers built the protocols you know and love, all the way back to DeFi summer,” she said, noting that more than 40 platforms have relied on such contributors at different points. Claims of extensive experience are not always fabricated, she added, saying their “seven years of blockchain dev…

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Filed under: News - @ April 17, 2026 8:19 am