By Willis Krumholz
North Korea claims that it is creating its own cryptocurrency. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency prices fell on the news—at least briefly—because if North Korea is developing its own cryptocurrency, that may reduce its demand for existing cryptocurrency options.
This tells us something about the importance of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to North Korea. And American policymakers would do well to understand why North Korea is so heavily involved in these encrypted digital currencies, and the implications of their involvement.
North Korea's new digital currency will be "more like bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies," said Alejandro Cao de Benos, who is both a North Korean official and a Spanish national long fond of the despotic regime.
This piece was originally published by Business Insider on September 26, 2019. Read more HERE.