ICIJ traced blockchain flows showing that major cryptocurrency exchanges continued receiving funds connected to organized crime, scam operations, and sanctioned or high-risk actors after prior compliance actions. The DPRK-relevant evidence says reporters collected wallet addresses associated with North Korean cyber thieves and found illicit actors either held accounts at major exchanges or sent tainted funds to accounts there. The article also states that a Russian money launderer specializing in moving cryptocurrency for North Korea’s weapons program maintained an active HTX account as of August. The findings matter for DPRK tracking because exchanges, swapping services, and cash desks can help convert stolen or illicit cryptocurrency into usable funds despite anti-money-laundering scrutiny.