Against the background of the latest rumors about the possible death of the leader of North Korea, the participants of the crypto community recalled that the DPRK owns cryptocurrency reserves worth about $670 million.
As is commonly believed in the crypto community, the reserves of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in North Korea amount to about $670 million, and possibly more. Now, representatives of the crypto space involuntarily thought about the further fate of these assets. The reason for this was the rumors about the death of DPRK leader Kim Jong-un that was actively exaggerated in the world media.
According to this Bitcoin Era review, the technology that most crypto companies use is always very similar, especially when it comes down to incorporating AI into these frameworks. Should the cybercrime stop from the DPRK is Kim Jong Un’s death is confirmed, many crypto companies are expecting a large burden of accusations to be removed from their names.
We can remember that the first fears on this topic began to appear after April 15, when the Korean leader missed the most important state holiday – Day of the Sun celebrated in honor of the birthday of Kim Il Sung, the “eternal President of the Republic” and grandfather of Kim Jong-un. Subsequently, rumors only multiplied, and, according to the latest conspiracy theories, the head of the DPRK died or was in a coma as a result of an unsuccessful heart operation.
DPRK and cryptocurrencies
If these rumors still turn out to be true, serious geopolitical upheavals may await North Korea. Due to the country’s loss of current stability, the queue may reach the cryptocurrency reserves of the DPRK. First of all, the crypto community fears potential aggressive sales by Korea of these assets.
The history of the relationship between Pyongyang and digital assets has always attracted public attention because of the DPRK’s love of cybercrime. The United States has long accused Pyongyang of creating special hacker groups to attract funding to the country, bypassing international sanctions.
In December last year, the FBI announced the arrest of one of the Ethereum developers, Virgil Griffith, who allegedly conducted an educational program in the DPRK to help Korean authorities better use blockchain technology to circumvent sanctions.
According to UN Security Council estimates, as of August 2019, the number of cryptocurrency funds stolen by North Korea since 2015 amounted to about $2 billion. It is difficult to say what reserves the country owns now, but a number of experts believe that Pyongyang may be one of the cryptocurrency whales. If all these assets are set in motion (of course, in the case of the confirmation of the death of Kim Jong-un), the consequences may be felt by the entire crypto community, such commentators fear.
Why is that?
However, many refuse to consider this idea seriously. Most of the answers to this alarmed Twitter post came down to the fact that such a scenario of aggressive cryptocurrency sales by Pyongyang is absurd and will never be realized.
So, the popular crypto community trader Alex Krüger replied that the DPRK also owns a large stock of uranium mines. Does this mean that the death of Kim Jong-un will also provoke uranium sales, he asks a counter-question. Other pranksters joined him, also predicting sales of fish and even beautiful women.
However, in fairness, it should be noted that comparing bitcoin with uranium ore is incorrect, since the first is a digital one, and the second is a physical asset that needs transportation.
Be that as it may, it is unlikely that the DPRK, even in the case of a change of leader, will suddenly decide on such a radical step as getting rid of all its cryptocurrency reserves – unless it is brought to a state of extreme despair and will be in dire need of cash. And, finally, most likely, all these arguments are purely hypothetical, and leader Kim Jong-un is still alive today of all living things.
Source: https://bitcoinerx.com/opinion/should-bitcoin-be-afraid-of-kim-jong-uns-death/
