North Korea Launders Billions in Stolen Crypto
37 comments
·March 18, 2025ricardobeat
pessimizer
They don't have to. The creation of such a direct government subsidy to bitcoin holders will drive the price up anyway.
abirch
Until the NSA or Google uses a sufficiently powerful quantum computer: https://www.coinbase.com/learn/crypto-basics/is-quantum-comp... Then you can take anyone's crypto that you'd like.
m3kw9
Maybe the reserve will buy wBtc that is on a L2 chain.
BiteCode_dev
Maybe the strategic reserve constitution will be a way to actually give money to them in exchange for crypto.
These days it feels anything is possible.
spraveenitpro
learn about Bitcoin Multisig security and then you tell me how long it will take
tenyrsmaxfrmnw
No present security will be suficient once IBM or others breaksthrough with Quantum. This will happen for sure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I20KgRZCZEI
snapcaster
Unclear this will "happen for sure", but even if it did there are quantum-proof encryption techniques
rtkwe
There's no guarantees that breakthrough is coming anytime soon. Scaling up the number of qubits in a processor is very hard and it's why progress has been pretty slow over the last decade.
CobrastanJorji
You have it backwards. The purpose of the reserve is to turn their crypto into money.
permo-w
do we really think that an entire nation state is unable to set up the apparatus to cheat a few measly KYC checks?
coin to coin exchanges do not require KYC, so hypothetically if they can beat KYC (which surely they can) they wouldn't even need to be depositing the actual coins they stole.
adgjlsfhk1
The point of KYC isn't to make fraud impossible, but to make it expensive.
Scoundreller
Isn’t “expensive” only a problem if your cost basis is >$0 ?
rtkwe
It cost them something to train the groups that stole those coins; training, their higher standard of living, etc.
colejohnson66
still requires upfront cost. If that’s priced out of reach for most people, it’s still a deterrent.
anonym29
Of course not. But it's still more work than passing the KYC checks on US Federal Reserve notes (there are none at all), or just printing fake US Federal Reserve notes that are so good it forces the Bureau of Printing and Engraving has to do expensive redesigns. Of course, America's own CIA has been long suspected of doing the exact same thing.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdollar if you want to learn more.
magnuspaaske
The problem with counterfeiting dollars is that it only works until the design is changed and it's hard to transfer your capabilities. On the other hand hacking is convenient since it can be use for political leverage, espionage and similar.
bilekas
Also I’m not expert but washing a significant amount of cash seems extremely more difficult than the Hacking enterprises?
anonym29
The problem with hacking is that it's far easier to patch a vulnerability than it is to redesign a currency note and reissue new batches of them across an entire printing press while removing the old ones (some real, some fake) from circulation very slowly.
Also, Bitcoin has never had the counterfeiting problem of currency notes, largely because there's no such capacity for bad actors to create or issue counterfeit Bitcoin, as Bitcoin backed by mathematical work that must be performed to in order to mine/"mint" new Bitcoin, unlike US Federal Reserve Notes, which are backed by nothing more than an Intaglio printing press, some engraving plates with publicly-available designs, and 3D security ribbons, ribbons featuring ink that is visible under a blacklight (you can find which chemicals exhibit this property on Wikipedia), some paper, and some linen. Oh, and every single one of those ingredients are are produced by a third party (NOT the US Bureau of Printing and Engraving), who all solemnly pinky promise they don't secretly keep and distribute any extras :)
IncreasePosts
America doesn't rescind or invalidate old money from circulation when a new design comes out though. No one is going to bat an eye at a 10 year old $100 bill coming through.
lupusreal
If the Kim family suddenly decided to take the money and run to Dubai (or where-ever crypto scammers retire to), I wonder if anything in North Korea would even change.
throwawayffffas
Riding a tiger is dangerous, climbing down is even more so.
arrosenberg
If he took all the money and ran? Yeah, there would be a nuclear power vacuum and a massive migration crisis towards the south that requires the US, China and Russia to be cooperative on to deal with. It would be the most hilarious way to start WW3.
giancarlostoro
Well there was the time someone wanted to stop for a sandwich...
maeil
Dubai is indeed where crypto scammers retire to.
wnc3141
that's a really interesting question! My only $0.02 is that there isn't a coherent political apparatus to transition political power - as I imagine that the power dynamics among the secondary rank is adversarial.
jandrese
In short: the power vacuum would result in a bloodbath.
thrance
They actually have an escape plan, with a base in Switzerland. Look it up, it's not even a secret.
EDIT: OK, turns it it's not that easy to find. I saw it in a documentary from a pretty serious source [1]. Unfortunately for you, it's in French (there should be a German version too).
yorwba
Do you have a timestamp? Searching through the transcript doesn't produce any hits for "Suisse" at all.
Nasrudith
There may be an awkward power vacuum as always with dictators setting up deliberately unclear lines of secession but chances are someone else with the most claim to 'legitimacy' would grab power. Just like how the royal bloodline dying out alone didn't mean there were no more kings.
metalman
crypto? Emperor Rocket Boy, has everything needed to go full ICBM NUKE, on a thumb drive, the crypto thing is just a side hobby, that shares time on whatever small mountain of GPU's that are used for all the rocket and submarine, nuke engineering that is going on in NK, which is his main hobby.
whou
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dist-epoch
They could sell it at market price (or slightly below) to the US strategic bitcoin reserve. I'm sure no one in the Trump administration would have any moral conundrums about this.
schainks
So, they are banking with HSBC?
How long until they get their hands on the US “strategic bitcoin reserve”?