Steve Hanke Asks To Avoid Funding North Korea’s Nuclear Program Using Bitcoin

• Steve Hanke calls out another scam on Bitcoin, calling investments into the cryptocurrency a fund to North Korea’s nuclear plan.
• The money was laundered from 4 different crypto exchanges.
• The presence of a virtual plane of interaction also adds to the fact that it is easier for cryptocurrencies to be used for funding negative deeds.

Cryptocurrency critic and economist Steve Hanke calls out another scam on Bitcoin, calling investments into the cryptocurrency a fund to North Korea’s nuclear plan. He says that investors should avoid Bitcoin like a “plague” due to how it is being used to fund Kim Jong Un’s nuclear initiatives. He also went on to call Bitcoin being an unreliable and extremely volatile asset and is now being used for weapons research.

Hanke quoted a Wall Street Journal article in his tweet about how United States authorities indicted Chinese nationals for aiding North Korean hackers launder $300 million in cryptocurrencies—and funding the stolen money into a cash stream for North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

The money was laundered from 4 different crypto exchanges. The incident has been tied to have relations to the Lazarus Group enterprise of criminals from North Korea. They are known for their efforts to steal cryptocurrencies and conduct other cybercrimes. The attack resulted in a loss of a large amount of money and customer information too. 

Hanke, who is also a professor of economics at John Hopkins University, has a minor point in his offensive comment towards the cryptocurrency. One of the issues that have plagued cryptocurrencies comes from its greatest features, too: its provision of anonymity.

The presence of a virtual plane of interaction also adds to the fact that it is easier for cryptocurrencies to be used for funding negative deeds. It has been repeatedly reported to have been used in money laundering scams, Ponzi schemes, and to fund other illegal activities. 

But this is no different from the drawbacks of traditional currency. Although cryptocurrencies have proven slightly more convenient to fund illegal operations, for the longest time, traditional fiat currencies were also used in laundering money and to conduct fraud.

Cryptocurrency developers have also been making strong efforts to prevent such frauds. Therefore, Hanke’s comments on cryptocurrency being an entire scam lie to question. 

Steve Anderrson

Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.