North Korea is Developing its Own Bitcoin
An official from the Korean government revealed that North Korea is in the early stages of developing its own national Cryptocurrency to avoid international monetary laws and to counter the US dollar-dominated the global market.
Pyongyang the capital of North Korea has shown interest in Cryptocurrencies. The country recently held its first-ever blockchain and Cryptocurrency conference in April.
Alejandro Cao de Benos, the official in charge of North Korea’s cryptocurrency conference and a special delegate for the Committee for Cultural Relations for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) said that the cryptocurrency doesn’t have a name yet but will be “more like bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies”. Benos further added:
“We are still in the very early stages in the creation of the token. Now we are in the phase of studying the goods that will give value to it” adding that there are “no plans to digitize the [North Korean] won for now.”
When a spokesperson at North Korea’s Embassy to the U.N. in New York asked about Benos statement he said: “I am not in a position to give you an answer”.
Kayla Izenman, a research analyst at London-based think tank the Royal United Services Institute, told VICE News:
“North Korea has shown extensive interest in cryptocurrency, showing expertise in mining, hacking exchanges, cryptojacking, and more. There is absolutely no doubt that they have the technical expertise to develop and utilize almost any iteration of cryptocurrency, whether that means laundering a previously-established coin such as Bitcoin through foreign unregulated exchanges or creating a nationalized cryptocurrency for themselves.”
Cao de Benos claims that some big foreign companies signed a contract with the North Korean Government to develop blockchain infrastructure in education, healthcare and finance.
Last week Benos announced the second blockchain conference scheduled for February 2020. Journalists are not allowed to attend the conference however US citizens are welcomed.
