According to Recorded Future, an intelligence research firm backed by Google Venture, Pyongyang may be using its coal supplies for powering Bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) mines.
And the North Korean government might be using the digital currency in order to bypass regulations.
On August 2017, the United Nations Security Council passed a new resolution that imposed even stricter sanctions on the North Korean government.
North Korea is among the top 10 net exporters of coal globally. However Pyongyang was banned from exporting coal to China, its biggest buyer. Now the report suggests that the rogue regime may have found a new use for these idle coal supplies.
Priscilla Moriuchi, a Recorded Future director commented the situation with following words:
“The first hypothesis is that it could have been an activity conducted by the state, whether it be the military or the intelligence services, for the purposes of raising funds for the regime. The second hypothesis is that it was an individual user … but because of the bandwidth and energy that were required, it would have to be known or permitted by the state and the leadership. Over the past few years, we’ve seen increasingly tough sanctions levied upon North Korea by the United States, other international partners and by the United Nations. Those sanctions have increasingly cut off North Korea’s access to the traditional financial system and [its] ability to generate funds for state operations. We believe that bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining or activity involving cryptocurrency is a way for North Korea to generate funds and get around some of the sanctions”.
Experts also believe that the North Korean government could have the capability to hack into South Korea Bitcoin exchanges.