The former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has characterized Bitcoin (BTC) as “a lottery ticket,” in an article for major United Kingdom daily broadsheet The Guardian Dec. 10. Writing in the midst of the recent crypto market price collapse, current Harvard University Professor of Economics and Public Policy Kenneth Rogoff suggested that the “overwhelming sentiment” among crypto advocates is that the total “market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies could explode over the next five years, rising to $5-10 [trillion].” The historic volatility of the emerging asset class, he conceded, indeed indicates that Bitcoin’s decline from its all-time highs of …

The CEO of cybersecurity firm Cuvepia declared that his company detected over 30 attacks on crypto-bearing individuals probably carried out by North Korean hackers, English-language media site South China Morning Post reports Nov. 29. Kwon Seok-Chul, the CEO of the aforementioned South Korean cybersecurity company, said that the new targets of the suspected North Korean cyberattacks “are just simple wallet users investing in cryptocurrency.” He then added that many cases probably haven’t been detected, and that there may have been well over 100 attacks. As the article states, the “targeting of individuals holding virtual currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) marks …

According to a new report from U.S.-based security firm Recorded Future published on Oct. 25, the North Korean government has sponsored at least two scam coins. In the report entitled “Shifting Patterns in Internet Use Reveal Adaptable and Innovative North Korean Ruling Elite,” Recorded Future’s research team Insikt Group mentions two alleged altcoin scams tied to North Korea. The first scam coin allegedly backed by North Korea is called Interstellar coin, and was found by Insikt Group in June 2018. The coin has reportedly been rebranded a number of times, going by various names such as HOLD, HUZU, or Stellar. …

Hacker group “Lazarus,” reportedly funded by North Korea, has stolen a staggering $571 million in cryptocurrencies since early 2017, a study conducted by cybercrime company Group-IB reveals. Key takeaways from the study were published Tuesday, Oct. 16, alongside the full annual report, entitled “Hi-Tech Crime Trends.” The report, dedicated to hacks in 2017 and 2018, identifies the allegedly state-sponsored hacker group Lazarus as responsible for $571 million of the $882 million total in crypto that was stolen from online exchanges during the studied time period; almost 65 percent of the total sum. Out of fourteen separate exchange breaches, five have …

American Economist Nouriel Roubini has stated that cryptocurrency is more centralized than North Korea in a tweet October 7. New York University professor Roubini, better known as "Dr. Doom" for his alleged prediction of the 2008 Financial crisis, has repeatedly criticized claims that decentralized in cryptocurrency exists. In his tweet today, the Harvard-educated economist again repeated his argument, this time calling crypto’s decentralization a “myth” and provocatively comparing the phenomenon to North Korea: "Decentralization in crypto is a myth. It is a system more centralized than North Korea: miners are centralized, exchanges are centralized, developers are centralized dictators (Buterin is …

South and North Korea may be separated by a border that's only 2.5 miles wide, but the two nations couldn't possibly be more different, at least when it comes to crypto. South Korea has emerged over the past few years as one of the world's major crypto-trading centers, with the BTC-KRW (Korean won) market being the fourth biggest among national fiat currencies. By contrast, most North Koreans have almost zero knowledge of cryptocurrencies, even though their government has been engaging in Bitcoin mining and the hacking of crypto exchanges in a bid to secure an alternative revenue stream. As the …

North Korea is "increasingly" using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions imposed by the U.S., according to two Washington-based experts cited by news site Asia Times on September 24. Lourdes Miranda and Ross Delston sent a joint response to an Asia Times' inquiry regarding the use of crypto by the government of North Korea (DPRK). Miranda is an independent financial analyst and a financial crimes investigator, and Delston is an independent attorney and expert witness in money laundering cases. Both experts have claimed that the country is successfully trading existing cryptocurrencies, and is attempting to create one of its own, despite current …

North Korea (DPRK) has attempted to mine Bitcoin (BTC), Yonhap News reported August 27, citing a report compiled by a research unit from South Korea's state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB). Yonhap notes that the mining attempt – which was allegedly conducted “on a small scale” between May and July 2017 – appears to have been unsuccessful, although the reasons for this remain unclear. According to Yonhap, the KDB report claims that North Korea’s interest resides in the essential "characteristics of cryptocurrencies, including anonymity, difficulties of tracing money and cashability." The KBD research unit reportedly cited a local media report as …

North Korean hackers have infected a cryptocurrency exchange with malware for both Windows and macOS for reportedly the first time, Russian internet security company Kaspersky Lab announced Thursday, August 23. In Kaspersky’s report, the company reveals the malware — dubbed “AppleJeus” — made its way into the systems of an unnamed exchange after an employee downloaded a “tainted” app. Kaspersky now believes the app came from a fake developer with fake security certificates in a major operation by North Korean hacker collective Lazarus Group. The malware aimed to steal cryptocurrency funds, Kaspersky claims, in what marks the latest in a …

PotCoin is reportedly in discussions with representatives of Dennis Rodman to sponsor his trip to the US-North Korea summit in Singapore next week, the Washington Post reported June 7. PotCoin is a cryptocurrency created to facilitate transactions within the legalized cannabis industry. Rodman’s agent Chris Volo confirmed the former basketball star’s interest in traveling to Singapore, saying he would provide “moral support” to President Trump and Kim Jong Un. The Canada-based cryptocurrency sponsored Rodman’s trip to North Korea in 2017, when its price spiked after Rodman wore a shirt with their logo while in the country. Volo reportedly said that …

The Korean Customs Service (KSC) has signed an MoU with the Korean operator of Malltail to develop a blockchain-based customs platform for the e-commerce industry, local media outlet Chosun reports today May 29. Malltail is the leading consumer parcel forwarding service to Korea, with reportedly over one mln users. Its Korean operator, Korea Center, will be tasked with business and technical development of the blockchain-based customs platform, which is to be operated by the KCS for seven Malltail distribution centers across the US, Japan and Germany. The company anticipates that once the technology is implemented at full-scale, the process for …

North Korean hackers are suspected in a cyberattack on Turkey’s financial sector, as stated in a report released by McAfee March 8. The McAfee Advanced Threat Research team identified an attempt by the hacking group Hidden Cobra to breach the security of Turkish government-backed financial institutions on March 2 and 3. While McAfee policy is to not officially identify cyber groups from nation-states as culprits, they mention in the report that the code of the malware in question closely resembles code used by a hacking operative associated with North Korea. The hackers used modified malware known as a “Bankshot” which …