Here’s How Kim Jong-un’s Presumed Death Can Impact Bitcoin (BTC) Price

On Apr. 25, reputable media outlets in Japan and China reported that North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un had passed away after a failed heart surgery.

While North Korea is yet to officially confirm the death of its supreme leader, the news sparked speculations about what the Hermit Kingdom would do with its enormous Bitcoin (BTC) stash.

North Korea could trigger a market sell-off

The “Russian Market” Twitter account, which appears to be the poster child of Zero Hedge, stirred the discussion by suggesting that North Korea would sell off its BTC holdings in case of Kim’s death.

North Korea news hits Bitcoin wires: we should see a sudden sellout if Kim‘s death report gets officially confirmed. pic.twitter.com/2q59BPQGqM

— Russian Market (@russian_market) April 25, 2020

As reported by U.Today, one of the most isolated countries on the globe hacks crypto exchanges to circumvent western sanctions and continue sponsoring its nuclear program. According to the United Nations, North Korea had amassed more than $670 mln worth of crypto as of March 2019.

Last month, the U.S. government indicted two Chinese hackers linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

Novogratz says “buy Bitcoin”

Still, crypto Twitter took the tweet with a massive grain of salt. The fact that North Korea owns a lot of BTC doesn’t necessarily mean that it will start selling it because of Kim’s death, likening crypto to uranium and fish.

Meanwhile, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz simply replied “buy Bitcoin” in response to Anthony Pompliano’s tweet about the authoritarian leader.

Buy Bitcoin

— Michael Novogratz (@novogratz) April 25, 2020