US court allows transfer of $71M in ETH linked to North Korean hack

A U.S. Manhattan federal court has authorized the transfer of approximately $71 million in ETH that was frozen in connection with an exploit linked to the North Korean hacking organization Lazarus Group. According to Unfolded, Judge Margaret Garnett partially modified a previous asset freeze order. The ruling allows Aave (AAVE) to move ETH associated with an Arbitrum-based rsETH exploit to a protocol-managed wallet, following a governance vote. However, the court upheld an approximately $877 million claim against North Korea by victims of terrorism and also established legal protections for governance participants. The market is noting this case as an example of a DeFi protocol collaborating with the courts to create procedures for asset recovery and management amid state-sponsored hacking incidents. Some analysts have also suggested that DAO governance votes could evolve into a hybrid form, incorporating legal validity beyond simple decentralized decision-making.