North Korea to launch its own crypto similar to Bitcoin

As per Vice News, North Korea is launching its cryptocurrency, which is in its early stages of development. The cryptocurrency is similar to Bitcoin and is designed to help the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) evade international sanctions and find a way around “the U.S.-dominated global financial system.”

Alejandro Cao de Benos, the official in charge of North Korea’s crypto conferences, said that the digital currency will be “more like Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.” Cao de Benos, who is also a special delegate for the Committee for Cultural Relations for the DPRK, said:

“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 [...] No plans to digitize the [North Korean] won for now.”

The North Korean Embassy to the United Nations in New York neither denied nor confirmed the claim. An embassy spokesperson apparently said, “I am not in a position to give you an answer.” 

Earlier, the U.N. Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee said DPRK hackers were targeting foreign banks and crypto exchanges. The hackers have allegedly made $2 billion from such activities to fund its weapons of mass destruction program. However, DPRK stated that the allegations were false and that the U.S. and other forces are spreading rumors about its intentions and activities.