The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has emerged as the world’s third-largest state-owned bitcoin stockpile after the US and the UK. Lazarus, a hacker group linked to the DPRK government, holds 13,580 bitcoins worth €1.01 billion (about $1.14 billion), The New York Times reported.
Arkham Intelligence, a US company that uses artificial intelligence to identify the owners of anonymous cryptocurrency assets, notes that Pyongyang has significantly increased its holdings since a record theft in February. According to Wu Blockchain, the increase came after an attack on crypto exchange Bybit, when hackers converted stolen ethereum into bitcoin.
North Korea has surpassed El Salvador, with its 6,117 coins, and Bhutan, which holds 10,635 BTC, in terms of bitcoin reserves. Only the US with about 200,000 bitcoins and the UK with 61,245 coins remain ahead of the DPRK. At the same time, the EU is not yet interested in reserves consisting of cryptocurrencies, ECB President Christine Lagarde noted at the end of January.
Unlike El Salvador, which earlier officially accepted bitcoin as a legal tender, but after leaving the decision to the parties of settlements – North Korea uses cryptocurrency to circumvent international sanctions. Cryptocurrency market experts link the activity of North Korean hackers to the regime’s attempts to finance government programmes.
