North Korea to develop cryptocurrency to avoid sanctions

North Korea is currently developing a state-run cryptocurrency to get around international sanctions and the global financial system. This cryptocurrency will be, "more like Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies," Alejandro Cao de Benos, an official in charge of North Korea's cryptocurrency conferences, said in a report by Vice.

"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," Benos said. He also claimed that there are "no plans to digitize the North Korean won for now."

Experts believe that North Korea has the ability to create its own cryptocurrency and could use it to avoid sanctions.

"North Korea has shown extensive interest in cryptocurrency, showing expertise in mining, hacking exchanges, cryptojacking, and more," Kayla Izenman, a research analyst at London-based think tank the Royal United Services Institute, said in the report. "There is absolutely no doubt that they have the technical expertise to develop and utilize almost any iteration of cryptocurrency, whether that means laundering a previously-established coin such as Bitcoin through foreign unregulated exchanges or creating a nationalized cryptocurrency for themselves."

North Korea has repeatedly used cryptocurrency for illegal ventures such as ransomware. In fact, the country's state-sponsored hackers have gained more than $2 billion in fiat and digital currency to help pay for the country's weapon programs, according to the report.