Following rumors that North korea'south supreme leader Kim Jong-Un is either in failing wellness or dead, reports started circulating that the country's Bitcoin (BTC) reserves volition be sold.

Co-ordinate to a March 2022 written report, at the time North Korea already held almost $670 million in crypto assets. Many believe this non-piddling amount of cryptocurrency to exist nether Jong-United nations's direct control.

Because recent reports have suggested that North Korea's leader's life is in danger after a failed heart surgery, many are afraid that the country's crypto holdings may be sold, causing the price to drib.

Note, however, that many experts are now proverb that there is no reason to believe that anything unusual is happening with Kim Jong-Un.

Jong-Un's BTC dump: a joke turned rumor

Furthermore, market contributor at crypto news outlet CoinDesk Zack Voell recently posted a joke on Twitter that has seen over a g likes, in which he claimed that Jong-Un's Bitcoin was moved onto the U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase.

Kim Jong-Un's deleted Bitcoin transfer joke. Source: Twitter

Kim Jong-United nations'due south deleted Bitcoin transfer joke. Source: Twitter

At a afterward time, he deleted his tweet and explained his reasons in another message:

"I deleted the [...] tweet so people finish asking me for a tx hash and because some crypto media outlets are even so taking it seriously. The stupidity in this industry is just incredible."

As Voell'southward tweet suggested, several cryptocurrency news outlets reported on how Jong-Un'southward failing health can effect in Bitcoin'southward price, with some taking Voell's at present-deleted tweet seriously. At a later on time, he tweeted:

"I can't believe I have to say this, merely North korea will non market place dump all of their bitcoins (or monero) if Kim Jong-Un is actually dead."

Democratic people's republic of korea's human relationship with cryptocurrency

Northward Korea'south notorious secrecy means nosotros do not have much confirmed information on the regime's employ of cryptocurrencies. Still, as Cointelegraph reported in mid-March, blockchain forensics firm CipherTrace claimed in a report that two Chinese nationals laundered tens of millions of dollars worth of stolen cryptocurrency on behalf of the North Korean government.

In Feb, a study revealed that Due north Korea's net increased three times over the past three years, as the state's regime has continued to rely on cryptocurrencies for diverse activities.