North Korea is working on its own as-of-yet unnamed cryptocurrency project, according by state representative Alejandro Cao de Benós in an interview with VICE news.
Cao de Benós told VICE that the token would be “more like bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies,” continuing to claim that the regime is “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,” before concluding there are
“no plans to digitize the [North Korean] won for now”.
Despite these claims however, there has been no official confirmation from any internal governmental representatives of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and as such the news should be taken with a pinch of salt. Perhaps a tablespoon, if you look closer at the source of the information.
North Korea’s Unofficial Mascot
According to his official Twitter, Alejandro Cao de Benós serves as an honorary ‘Special Delegate’ of the ‘Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries’ for the DPRK. Beyond this ambiguous delegation however, there seems to be more to the story of Cao de Benós than first meets the eye.
Alejandro Cao de Benós has a colourful and vibrant history, partly due to his uncommon status as a dual-heritage resident of Spain who shares citizenship with North Korea also. Some reports suggest that he visits North Korea up to two times per-month, adding weight to his claims.
He is the founder and sole salaried member of the ‘Korean Friendship Association’, which is based in his residential home country of Spain and (among other things) promotes international relations and representation with foreign citizens and states.
On the more shady side however, Cao de Benós was arrested in Tarragona, Southern Spain back in 2016 for having allegedly trafficked blank firing pistols that had been modified to shoot standard offensive rounds into the country.
Cao de Benós has also been accused of profiteering off of international citizens seeking to visit the highly secluded, controversial and exclusive nation.
Crypto States
North Korea is no stranger to the world of cryptocurrency. They are traditionally better known for the activities they taken in deconstructing and stealing from others’ tokenized funds as opposed to constructing; as represented in Western media reports.
Earlier this month, the DPRK rejected a report published by the United Nations which claimed that North Korea was responsible for $2 billion worth of hacks undertaken against banks and cryptocurrency exchanges. Those from South Korea were found to have been one of the most frequent targets of these attacks.
Other notable countries known to be working on national cryptocurrency projects at present include China, the USA, and Iran.
Closing Thoughts
If real: the forthcoming cryptocurrency project from North Korea is highly unlikely to have much function outside of the country itself. A result of the negative reputation it has garnered from its hacking incidents in combination with the highly seclusive nature, as well as its poor political / economic status on the world stage.
