Bitcoin price THREAT: This is why North Korea poses a HUGE risk to cryptocurrencies

BITCOIN and other cryptocurrencies are attracting growing attention from North Korea, which could lead to the digital currencies being caught in the crossfire between the rogue state and western security agencies, a leading expert said.

Bitcoin could be used by North Korea to shore up is besieged economy, Dr Garrick Hileman told Express.co.uk. Dr Hileman a leading expert on cryptocurrencies, whose work is used by the CIA and US army, said this attracting more focus from security agencies.

Dr Hileman said: “There is growing interest from people in the national security space in cryptocurrency and how this is being used perhaps by rogue nations, like North Korea.”

“There's been reports that there is a growing interest inside North Korea in cryptocurrencies for uses that I'm not sure we quite fully understand.”

This could prove problematic for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such as ethereum and Ripple, which are already attracting the attention of regulators across the world.