North Korea has amassed $670 million in bitcoin and other currencies through hacking
UN report reveals how North Korea is stockpiling cryptocurrency in order to circumvent economic sanctions Click to followThe Independent Tech
North Korea has amassed upwards of $670 million worth of bitcoin and other currencies, according to a panel of experts reporting to the UN Security Council.
Their report, set to be published this week, revealed how North Korea is stockpiling cryptocurrency in order to circumvent strict economic sanctions .
The panel said cryptocurrencies “provide the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with more ways to evade sanctions, given that they are harder to trace, can be laundered many times and are independent from government regulation.” We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
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Cyber attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges and financial institutions have helped North Korea boost its illicit funds, while blockchain technology has helped conceal its actions from foreign governments.
The report, first obtained by the Nikkei Asian Review , appears to substantiate other investigations into how North Korea uses the technology to support its regime. Shape Bitcoin’s volatile history in pictures Show all 8 Bitcoin’s volatile history in pictures 1/8 Satoshi Nakamoto creates the first bitcoin block in 2009 On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled ‘Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’ Reuters 2/8 Bitcoin is used as a currency for the first time On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins – the equivalent of $90 million at today’s prices Lazlo Hanyecz 3/8 Silk Road opens for business Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web.
The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin 4/8 The first bitcoin ATM appears On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash REUTERS/Dimitris Michalakis 5/8 The fall of MtGox The world’s biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins.
At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed Getty Images 6/8 Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim Getty Images 7/8 Bitcoin’s big split On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash REUTERS 8/8 Bitcoin’s price sky rockets Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year Reuters 1/8 Satoshi Nakamoto creates the first bitcoin block in 2009 On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled ‘Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’ Reuters 2/8 Bitcoin is used as a currency for the first time On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins – the equivalent of $90 million at today’s prices Lazlo Hanyecz 3/8 Silk Road opens for business Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin 4/8 The first bitcoin ATM appears On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash REUTERS/Dimitris Michalakis 5/8 The fall of MtGox The world’s biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins.
At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed Getty Images 6/8 Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim Getty Images 7/8 Bitcoin’s big split On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash REUTERS 8/8 Bitcoin’s price sky rockets Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year Reuters
In October, researchers from the cyber-threat intelligence firm Recorded Future linked two separate cryptocurrency scams to a network of “North Korea-enablers” in Singapore, each reportedly designed to funnel funds into the country by conning investors.
“Broadly, these types of cryptocurrency scams fit the template of low-level financial crime described by defectors,” the report stated. Watch more Bitcoin trader brutally tortured with drill in cryptocurrency robbery
“It is a natural step for both a group of actors that has been so embedded in the cryptocurrency world for years and for a network that is being forced to innovate new funding streams to counter the effects of international sanctions.”
Another investigation by security researchers at AlienVault uncovered a so-called crypto-jacking campaign, whereby state-back hackers allegedly hijacked foreign computer networks in order to secretly mine cryptocurrency.
The latest report’s publication comes just one month before North Korea plans to hold an international blockchain and cryptocurrency conference , which will see industry experts invited to the reclusive state to discuss the technology’s potential.
The Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference offers delegates an all-inclusive stay in North Korea, though citizens of Israel, Japan and South Korea are not welcome.
Journalists are also forbidden from attending, with the conference’s website stating: “Any mass printed propaganda or digital/ printed material against the dignity of the Republic is not allowed.”.
