[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong] A bitcoin address linked to North Korea-associated hacking group Lazarus moved 262.2 BTC to 2 new addresses.

Blockchain media outlet U.Today reported on Aug. 13 local time that the transfer was worth about $16.6 million at current prices, but there was no confirmed sign at this stage that it entered an exchange.

On-chain records show 262.20040151 BTC left the existing address and was split between 2 new addresses. About 182.2 BTC moved to one address and 80 BTC to the other. The flow suggests an early stage of reallocating holdings to new wallets rather than a simple sale.

The move drew attention because Lazarus-related funds often move through multiple wallets rather than entering an exchange at once. An analysis cited in the report said the transfer alone does not support the view that Lazarus is selling $16.6 million worth of bitcoin. For now, what is confirmed is only that the bitcoin is being moved.

Court documents show North Korean hacking groups including Lazarus and APT38 have operated wallet networks to move funds obtained through cyberattacks. Because of this structure, dispersal across intermediary wallets and re-transfer patterns are seen as more important signals than whether deposits reach an exchange during tracking.

The market impact is still limited. Bitcoin was around $63,800, putting 262 BTC at about $16.7 million. The outlet said, "Even if all of this amount were sold into the market, it would still be quite small compared with bitcoin's usual liquidity." Price charts also showed no clear reaction immediately after the transfer.

Bitcoin is continuing a range-bound move between $63,000 and $65,000, around a short-term average of about $64,000 and a 50-day moving average near $63,400. Resistance levels were given as $66,600 and $71,900. The key point is that the route the funds take next matters more than the transaction itself.

The next point to watch is what the 2 receiving wallets do. If the 2 newly funded addresses further split the bitcoin, interact with more intermediary addresses, or eventually deposit into an exchange, the move is more likely to be interpreted as a cash-out or money-laundering sequence. If the funds remain without further movement, it could amount to a simple reallocation. At this stage, blockchain data places more weight on movement and dispersion than on selling.