{"id":21091,"date":"2025-04-08T12:02:46","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T12:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=21091"},"modified":"2025-04-08T12:02:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T12:02:46","slug":"heres-how-rune-became-kim-jong-uns-favorite-crypto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=21091","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s How RUNE Became Kim Jong Un\u2019s Favorite Crypto"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p class=\"text-body font-regular leading-[24px] pt-[9px] pb-[2px]\">THORChain (RUNE), once hailed as a game-changer for<a href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/cryptocurrency\/new-cryptocurrency\/\"> trustless crypto swaps<\/a>, has become Kim Jong Un\u2019s favorite cryptocurrency. Not exactly the legacy its founders had in mind, huh?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-body font-regular leading-[24px] pt-[9px] pb-[2px]\">Accusations tie the platform to North Korea\u2019s laundering of stolen assets, turning its <a href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/cryptocurrency\/high-risk-high-reward-crypto\/\">decentralized credo<\/a> into a moral debate. The fallout has reignited fierce debates over blockchain\u2019s blurred line between innovation and exploitation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"chart crypto-chart-instance\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2\" data-coin-id=\"rune-thorchain\">\n<div class=\"chart__header\">\n<div class=\"chart__info\">\n<div class=\"chart__info-icon\">\n                <img id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-chart__info-icon-img\">\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"chart__info-name\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-chart__info-name\">&#8211;<\/div>\n<div class=\"chart__info-label\">Price<\/div>\n<div class=\"chart__info-label\">Market Cap<\/div>\n<div class=\"chart__info-value\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-chart__info-symbol\">&#8211;<\/div>\n<div class=\"chart__info-value\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-chart__info-price\">&#8211;<\/div>\n<div class=\"chart__info-value\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-chart__info-marketcap\">&#8211;<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"chart__controls\">\n<div class=\"chart__controls-group\">\n                <button class=\"chart__button chart__button--24h\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-btn-24h\">24h<\/button><br \/>\n                <button class=\"chart__button chart__button--7d\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-btn-7d\">7d<\/button><br \/>\n                <button class=\"chart__button chart__button--30d\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-btn-30d\">30d<\/button><br \/>\n                <button class=\"chart__button chart__button--1y\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-btn-1y\">1y<\/button><br \/>\n                <button class=\"chart__button chart__button--all-time\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-btn-all-time\">All Time<\/button>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"chart__controls-group\">\n                <button class=\"chart__button chart__button--logarithmic\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-btn-log\">Log<\/button>\n            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"chart__container\">\n        <canvas class=\"chart__canvas\" id=\"crypto_chart_67f50d94cf3a2-cryptoChart\"><\/canvas>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"font-bold text-body leading-[24px] pt-[12px] pb-[2px] [&amp;_a]:underline-offset-[6px] [&amp;_.underline]:underline-offset-[6px]\">Kim Jong Un Crypto Strategy: The Bybit Hack and THORChain\u2019s (RUNE) Role<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-body font-regular leading-[24px] pt-[9px] pb-[2px]\">The trouble began with the massive $1.4 billion hack of crypto exchange Bybit in February 2025, the largest cryptocurrency theft in history.<\/p>\n<p>North Korea\u2019s Lazarus Group, professionals at digital larceny, cracked Bybit\u2019s Ethereum wallets in a brazen move that netted a fortune. The score, roughly $1.2 billion, found its way through THORChain, a decentralized platform that specializes in cross-chain swaps between major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thorchain not doing anything to stop the movement of stolen ETH through their platform isn&#8217;t going to end well.<\/p>\n<p>Funny how one person can shut down ThorFi in 2 minutes, but when it comes to stopping North Korea laundering billions of dollars of Ethereum through Thorchain, it&#8217;s\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bIFYluIHKd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/bIFYluIHKd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ed | AirdropGlideApp (@AirdropGlideapp) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AirdropGlideapp\/status\/1894996441463918716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">February 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Blockchain security expert Taylor Monahan summarized the appeal for shady operators: \u201cTHORChain lets you jump from Ethereum to Bitcoin without leaving a trace. Before this, swaps like that weren\u2019t possible without banks freezing everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Decentralized, unregistered, and uncontrollable, THORChain has become the weapon of choice for laundering on the blockchain.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">EXPLORE:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/cryptocurrency\/best-ai-crypto-coins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">10 Best AI Crypto Coins to Invest in 2025<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-bold text-body leading-[24px] pt-[12px] pb-[2px] [&amp;_a]:underline-offset-[6px] [&amp;_.underline]:underline-offset-[6px]\">Ethical Concerns For RUNE Crypto and Community Backlash<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-body font-regular leading-[24px] pt-[9px] pb-[2px]\">The revelations have raised pressing ethical questions for decentralized platforms. Unlike other crypto services that froze transactions linked to the Bybit hack (such as Tether and Mantle), THORChain operators declined to intervene despite requests from agencies like the FBI.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-body font-regular leading-[24px] pt-[9px] pb-[2px]\">THORChain\u2019s validators briefly paused Ethereum swaps in response to the FBI\u2019s notice but resumed within 30 minutes after community pushback. JP Thor (John-Paul Thorbjornsen), the project\u2019s founder, maintained that the network should remain neutral, stating, \u201cThe protocol keeps running and swapping despite chaos. It\u2019s doing great, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-body font-regular leading-[24px] pt-[9px] pb-[2px]\">Many in the crypto space don\u2019t agree.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the huge majority of your flows are stolen funds from North Korea for the biggest money heist in human history, it will become a national security issue,\u201d warned a THORChain developer known as \u201cTCB\u201d in an X post.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">DISCOVER:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/cryptocurrency\/best-meme-coin-icos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Best Meme Coin ICOs to Invest in April 2025<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-bold text-body leading-[24px] pt-[12px] pb-[2px] [&amp;_a]:underline-offset-[6px] [&amp;_.underline]:underline-offset-[6px]\">Is THORChain Truly Decentralized?<\/h2>\n<p>THORChain is a decentralized utopia, built on validator authority and its RUNE-staked ecosystem. But one developer shutting the network down in January shattered that illusion for many, reigniting accusations of \u201cdecentralization theater.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The stakes go beyond credibility. Platforms like Tornado Cash and Bitzlato have already faced sanctions and crackdowns for enabling dirty money. THORChain could be next in line. A former Treasury official summed it up coldly: \u201cIf you\u2019re profiting from Lazarus Group\u2019s hacked funds, you\u2019ve got an OFAC problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>EXPLORE:\u00a0<a class=\"general-link\" href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/news\/xrp-price-jumps-11-after-sec-crypto-unit-tease-xrp-etf-progress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">XRP Price Jumps 11% After SEC Crypto Unit Tease XRP ETF Progress<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a class=\"general-link\" href=\"https:\/\/discord.gg\/B7Uk6agkqj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways\">\n<h3 class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways__title\">Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways__list\">\n<li class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways__list-item\">\n        THORChain (RUNE), once hailed as a game-changer for<a href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/cryptocurrency\/new-cryptocurrency\/\"> trustless crypto swaps<\/a>, has become Kim Jong Un\u2019s favorite cryptocurrency.    <\/li>\n<li class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways__list-item\">\n        The trouble began with the massive $1.4 billion hack of crypto exchange Bybit in February 2025, the largest cryptocurrency theft in history.    <\/li>\n<li class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways__list-item\">\n         Platforms like Tornado Cash and Bitzlato have already faced sanctions and crackdowns for enabling dirty money.     <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/news\/heres-how-rune-became-kim-jong-uns-favorite-crypto\/\">Here\u2019s How RUNE Became Kim Jong Un\u2019s Favorite Crypto<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/\">99Bitcoins<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THORChain (RUNE), once hailed as a game-changer for trustless crypto swaps, has become Kim Jong Un\u2019s favorite cryptocurrency. Not exactly the legacy its founders had in mind, huh? Accusations tie the platform to North Korea\u2019s laundering of stolen assets, turning its decentralized credo into a moral debate. The fallout has reignited fierce debates over blockchain\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-21091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21091\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}