Block Climbing podcast: North Korean crypto hacks and the Venezuelan Petro explained
This week, Tegan and Tim dive into the rise and extreme fall of the state-sanctioned Venezuelan cryptocurrency, the Petro. They also explore North Korean crypto hackers and the Bored Apes starting an NFT band.
If you thought that cryptocurrency was designed to be decentralised, you'd be absolutely right. At least, that was the original aim. But that didn't stop Venezuela from trying to solve its severe economic troubles and creating its own coin called the Petro.
In this episode, Tegan and Tim deep dive into the Petro, the dictatorial government that drove it and the ironically anti-government coder behind it all. Strap yourself in for a wild ride.
They also chat about Universal launching a Bored Ape NFT band (yes you read that correctly) and the allegedly state-funded North Korean crypto hackers.
Listen to the episode: North Korean crypto hacks and the Venezuelan Petro explained
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Credits
- Hosts: Tegan Jones and Tim Bennett
- Editor: Tim Bennett
- Editorial: Tegan Jones
This podcast is powered by Finder. Follow Tegan and Tim on Twitter.
Show notes and sources
North Korea hackers stole $400 million of cryptocurrency in 2021, report says (BBC)
US hasn't stopped North Korean gang from laundering its crypto haul (Washington Post)
North Korean hackers target Axie Infinity game players in US$620 million crypto heist, FBI says (ABC)
Universal Music Group pays $361K for Bored Ape NFT to lead virtual band "Kingship" (Digital Music News)
- What is Petro? (Investopedia)
- Venezuela says its cryptocurrency raised $735 million – but it's a farce (Ars Technica)
- The Coder and the Dictator (The New York Times)
Venezuela: The rise and fall of a Petrostate (Council on Foreign Relations)
- Interestingly, the Finder Crypto Adoption Index shows that the more corrupt a government is, the more likely its citizens are to invest in crypto. And perhaps that's not surprising after hearing stories like what happened in Venezuela (Finder).
