Banned NVIDIA GPUs Fuel North Korea’s Expansion of AI‑Enabled Crypto Heists
North Korea has been acquiring banned NVIDIA GPUs (notably GeForce RTX 2700 series) to boost AI capabilities used in cryptocurrency thefts, deepfakes and surveillance, according to The Chosun Ilbo. Despite U.S. export controls on dual‑use GPUs, Pyongyang is deploying mid‑level but effective hardware to scale attacks. State‑linked hacking groups such as Lazarus — tied to North Korea’s military intelligence — are increasingly using AI tools to scan codebases, detect smart‑contract vulnerabilities, create convincing fake recruiter profiles, and automate exploit discovery. The tactic expands the country’s ability to steal funds from exchanges and DeFi platforms, helping it generate untraceable revenue to evade sanctions. For traders, the report highlights elevated operational sophistication in North Korea‑linked cybercrime that may increase exchange and smart‑contract risk; it underscores the importance of custody security, contract audits and monitoring for exploit patterns.
Bearish
The news is bearish for crypto market security and confidence. State‑linked actors using banned NVIDIA GPUs and AI to scale crypto thefts raise counterparty and smart‑contract risk. In the short term, reports of advanced hacks typically prompt selling pressure on affected tokens and higher flows into stable assets as traders reduce exposure to centralized exchanges and vulnerable DeFi protocols. Exchanges may tighten withdrawals or delist risky tokens, reducing liquidity for some markets. Historically, high‑profile hacks (e.g., Ronin, Poly Network, previous Lazarus incidents) caused immediate price drops for targeted assets and a broader risk‑off reaction across crypto. In the medium to long term, persistent state‑sponsored cybercrime raises operational costs for custodians and projects (more audits, insurance, security spending), which can dampen speculative inflows and slow on‑chain activity. However, systemic market fundamentals (macro, BTC/ETH trends) will still drive prices; the primary effect here is increased security premia and migration toward more secure custody and audited protocols rather than an outright market collapse.