Expecting North Korea to always keep to the law? Come on, wake up to the reality! The rogue nation under its leader Kim Jong Un has shown such daring defiance and resoluteness to fight on. In face of all the stifling sanctions pelted at them, the nation has managed to struggle along. Of course, North Korea has not survived this long only on lawful means.
North Korea has Stepped into Cryptocurrency, Too
Reports have emerged that in the past, the nation tried its hand on cryptocurrency mining. Precisely in 2017, North Korea ventured into crypto mining in a determined push to source alternative means of raising money. The report emanating from a research unit in South Korea’s state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) showed that the hermit nation attempted to mine Bitcoin last year.
Furthermore, the reports specify that such mining attempt took place between May and July 2017. This was to find its way around the discomfiting sanctions that has largely isolated the nation from the international banking apparatus. North Korea specifically pursued mining coins as well as tokens that maintained the anonymity of users. Such coins are notably very effective when one wants to run money laundering without leaving a conspicuous trace.
They Have Actually Been In Love With Cryptocurrency For A While
North Korea’s enchantment with crypto didn’t start last year either. Actually, it has been a long time coming. Reports point out that the nation supposedly first recorded a crypto transaction far back in 2014. However, as the nation maintains a dense veil of secrecy around its crypto operations, it is very possible that North Korea had carried out a crypto transaction much earlier than the reported 2014.
It is strongly believed that even at present, North Korea yet vehemently uses cryptocurrency for alternative funding and international money laundering. For one thing, because of the sanctions piled on North Korea for its dreams of being an Asian nuclear power, the North Korean government is seriously starved of funding with the economy consistently shrinking. Rather ridiculously, the nation explores cryptocurrency so secretly that the average everyday North Korean knows next to nothing about cryptocurrency. In addition to this, the international community is unable to accurately trace nation’s cryptocurrency escapades.
Also, There Has Been Hacking
It would have been manageable if North Korea stopped at illegally mining of cryptocurrency. The nation buttresses its notoriety with more state-sponsored hacking attacks. These hacking attacks have so far voluptuously fetched the country tens of millions of dollars. South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have regularly felt the heat of these attacks.
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