ZachXBT, a notorious sleuth in the crypto industry, has identified an “eye-opening” level of North Korean participation in the space. He claims that several decentralized protocols owe nearly all their trade volume to the DPRK.

ZachXBT discovered this network while trying to freeze transactions from the recent Bybit hack. He worries that the industry may not be capable of solving the problem, inviting anti-crypto regulations.

Extreme Level of North Korean Money Laundering Through Crypto

ZachXBT recently identified the North Korean Lazarus Group as the perpetrators of the Bybit hack. Although the group successfully laundered the stolen money, ZachXBT has persisted in trying to freeze assets and described an “eye-opening” network of North Korean activity in the DeFi space.

“Several ‘decentralized’ protocols have recently had nearly 100% of their monthly volume/fees from the DPRK. Centralized exchanges end up being worse, as when illicit funds flow through them, a few take multiple hours to respond when it only takes minutes to launder,” ZachXBT claimed via Telegram.

ZachXBT has pursued North Korean hacker activities on many occasions, and previously criticized Circle for its slow response in preventing money laundering.

The Bybit hack, the largest heist in crypto history, has highlighted the epidemic nature of the problem. THORChain and OKX were both criticized for facilitating Lazarus’ Bybit laundering.

Other data suggests that ZachXBT’s concerns about North Korean crypto networks are well-founded. Recent data from Arkham Intelligence suggests that North Korea is now the third-largest national crypto holder, behind the US and UK.

Although on-chain analysis can prove that North Korea has these assets, it’s practically impossible to speculate what exactly the country is doing with them.

The nation has been growing closer to Russia, which openly advocates for using crypto to evade sanctions. However, experts have only been able to speculate what North Korea is buying.

ZachXBT worries that North Korea has exposed how broken the crypto space is. He called KYT “completely flawed and easily evadable,” and said KYC is “just a honeypot for regular users” due to breaches and “useless in the majority of cases.”

Overall, it’s clear that North Korea is deeply embedded in the crypto space. Given the country’s reputation, it’s likely that these large proceeds from the crypto industry directly fund its military.

“This industry is unbelievably cooked when it comes to exploits/hacks. Sadly, I don’t know if the industry is going to fix this itself unless the government forcibly passes regulations that hurt our entire industry,” ZachXBT added.

Hopefully, the crypto community can find its own solutions and avoid harmful regulation and inevitable government overreach.

Crypto analyst MadWhale has raised the possibility of the XRP price experiencing a breakdown below the crucial $2 support level. The analyst also revealed the next major support if XRP drops below this support level. 

XRP Price Could Drop To $1.90 If It Loses $2 Support

In a TradingView post, MadWhale predicted that the XRP price could drop to the major support at $1.90 if it loses the psychological $2 level. He noted that XRP has demonstrated a classic triple-top formation, with each successive peak showing weaker momentum. In line with this, the analyst asserted that a break below the 42 threshold appears imminent as XRP nears a formidable resistance zone. 

Related Reading

MadWhale further stated that the downward move is expected to extend to at least $1.9, representing an 18% decline. The analyst added that such a price decline aligns with the primary target and a key daily support level. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez had also suggested that XRP could drop to as low as $1.2 if it loses the $2 support. 

The analyst revealed that the XRP price was forming a head-and-shoulders pattern on the weekly chart, which puts the $2 support level in the spotlight. His accompanying chart showed that the crypto could drop to $1.2 if it breaks below $2. However, despite this bearish outlook, other crypto analysts, such as Egrag Crypto, have highlighted some positive aspects of the XRP price. 

Egrag Crypto stated that the XRP price’s dominance was showing tremendous strength and predicted that if it successfully closed above Fib 0.5, it could soon rally to the Fib 0.888 level. Crypto analyst Dark Defender predicted that XRP could rally to a new all-time high (ATH) if it continues to hold the crucial support levels at $2.04 and $2.22.

The Altcoin Still In Waiting Mode

Crypto analyst CasiTrades stated that the XRP price is holding strong but is still in waiting mode. She added that the bullish structure remains intact, with the altcoin holding above $2.26, which is the key .382 retracement support. The analyst noted that XRP’s price has spent some time flipping the consolidation to support, indicating that markets are setting up for the next move.

Related Reading

The crypto analyst revealed the $2.70 and $3.05 resistance levels and $2.25 support level as the key levels to watch. She remarked that the XRP price needs to flip $2.70 and $3.05 to become support for the confirmation of the next wave up. Meanwhile, CasiTrades suggested that XRP risks dropping to as low as $1.54 if it loses the lower support support at $1.90. 

The crypto analyst also mentioned that the price needs to break above $3.40, its current ATH, to confirm a new trend. Until then, the wait for signs of confirmation continues, which she claimed may not be obvious until wave 3 in the market cycle. CasiTrades asserted that key Fib levels have been breached, and the market is on the edge of a breakout. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $2.29, down over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Featured image from Medium, chart from Tradingview.com