So Bitcoin Has Reached North Korea

From Berlin to Botswana to Beijing, Bitcoin is spreading all over the world, and now, it’s finally hit North Korea.

Well, sort of. A brave Bitcoiner known only by his Reddit handle BitcoinDPRK—maintaining anonymity makes sense for security reasons—made the first Bitcoin transaction from Pyongyang, North Korea by sending a few satoshis to Sean’s Outpost, a homeless outreach that accepts BTC. (The organization fed 30,000 homeless people last year thanks to Bitcoin donations.)

Not even Kim Jong-Un, it appears, can stop the borderless cryptocurrency.

The enterprising crypto-enthusiast apparently made the trip to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to catch Dennis Rodman’s basketball game, but decided to dabble in some Bitcoin trading while he was there. As he noted, “this is the first time a transaction on the blockchain has been broadcast from this country.”

“What better use case of bitcoin than to send money internationally from what is probably the most restrictive country in the world?” he wrote. “With bitcoin, borders mean nothing!”

“Granted, using the internet is not a privilege afforded to the large majority of North Koreans, so it will be a while before the people of the DPRK are sending bitcoins to each other,” he added. Incidentally, the tour group he was with, Koryo Tours, also accepts Bitcoin.​

Over two million North Korea citizens have cell phones and last year the country unveiled its first smartphone, but access to 3G data plans are forbidden except for by foreigners and tourists. Web access consists of the country’s internal intranet, the Kwangmyong, accessible via dial-up, and offers limited browsing options.

But even if the average North Korean is on the wrong side of the regime’s notoriously strict digital divide, one might wonder if the decentralized currency could be of interest to the country’s elite, who have privileged access to the amenities most of us take for granted in the rest of the world.

And the execution of the Supreme Leader’s uncle drew attention the numerous underground businesses being operated by the oppressive regime’s one-percenters (or in the case of North Korea, 0.01 percenters), whose black market currency of choice is the Chinese renminbi. Bitcoin’s subversive qualities could be an attractive alternative for obvious reasons.

For the rest of North Korea, they'll have to wait a bit longer for Bitcoin fever. But the lack of internet access won't stop a select few from owning some virtual coin, thanks to the versatility of crypto-wallets. "I have been giving paper wallets with a few mBTC each to the Korean guides accompanying us on the tour," wrote BitcoinDPRK. By the time the lucky recipients figure out how to spend it, their stash may even be worth a whole lot more.

@sfnuop