Left or Right North Korean Hacker Group and US SEC Chairman

North Korean Hacker Group, US SEC Chairman

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler can be said to be the “number one enemy” of the crypto community recently. Just a few days ago, ConsenSys lawyer Bill Hughes even likened him to North Korean hackers Lazarus Group, calling them the “biggest enemies of cryptocurrency”. What are their specific comments and the attitudes of onlookers? Translated by Aya from Odaily Planet Daily.

Bill’s views and comments from onlookers

Bill commented on Twitter as follows: “The biggest enemies facing cryptocurrency right now are Gary Gensler and Lazarus Group. If we can eliminate these two enemies, the regulatory environment in the United States will completely change. It should be noted that Gensler is likely to leave the SEC before Lazarus Group stops plundering DeFi. Lazarus Group poses a bigger challenge and a greater threat to P2P in the United States. (Note: The Reed/Warner Act is a response to Lazarus Group.)”

Marc Goldich, General Counsel of Proximity Labs, expressed his attitude under this tweet: “Maybe you are right…but at the same time, there will always be bad people used as a reason to strengthen government surveillance.” Bill replied, “If it weren’t for Lazarus and intelligence agencies claiming ‘this thing supports the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,’ these national security hawks wouldn’t even know about the existence of cryptocurrency, and Warren would only push for legislation that has nowhere to go.”

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Some comments rebutted Bill’s views and believed that “without the cat-and-mouse game, we would never have a resilient system…there will always be bad actors and poorly incentivized systems.”

But more people support Bill’s views and focus on the North Korean hackers. “The SEC’s attacks on cryptocurrency are very dangerous but will gradually fade away. The more difficult problem is how to stop Lazarus. Lazarus is a real problem. That’s why OFAC designated Tornado as a sanctioned entity.”

Overlooked Gary?

Obviously, the crowds are focusing on Pyongyang thousands of miles away and ignoring the other protagonist mentioned in comparison – Gary Gensler. To some extent, this also represents the views of most people – that compared to the “internal troubles” of cracking down on giants, the “external threats” that can steal their money at any time are more important.

However, the former’s impact on the industry is happening all the time: just on Wednesday, Gensler proposed to provide an additional budget of $72 million to the SEC at the US Senate Appropriations Committee, stating that the SEC must expand its scale, including protecting investors from the impact of the “rampant misconduct” in the cryptocurrency industry. Even in the face of multiple attacks and the losses in the XRP and Coinbase lawsuits, Gensler still maintains his attitude towards regulation and law enforcement and “reserves the right to appeal.”

Gensler’s attitude towards the regulation of the cryptocurrency market is unwavering. Although some believe that his regulatory measures may restrict innovation and freedom in the industry, from another perspective, regulation also brings opportunities to the industry, prompting industry participants to pay more attention to compliance and risk management – although there is considerable controversy about whether this brings opportunities or destruction.

But regardless of whether this SEC chairman can “disappear before the sun comes out tomorrow,” compared to the hackers in Pyongyang, his influence and decisions, as well as a series of policies and measures he set during his tenure, may have a greater impact on the long-term development of the industry.

The Overemphasized Lazarus Group

There is no denying that North Korean hackers have indeed made enough headlines in the past two years – you can always find their traces in cases of large-scale theft on the blockchain. According to data from Chainalysis, North Korean hackers have stolen over $3 billion in cryptocurrency assets over the past five years, and they have penetrated various projects through social engineering attacks. For example, last year they posed as recruiters on LinkedIn and contacted a Sky Mavis engineer. The hackers gave the engineer a document to review as part of the recruitment process, but the document contained malicious code, allowing the hackers to infiltrate Sky Mavis and steal over $600 million in funds in the Ronin Bridge attack.

But as the saying goes, “There will always be someone who becomes the next Lazarus.” The chaotic dark forest never lacks opportunistic intruders. If North Korean hackers should disappear one day, there will still be other hacker organizations or individuals continuously seeking opportunities to attack the ecosystem of blockchain projects. And it is precisely the U.S.’s pursuit, blockade, and sanctions against North Korea in the traditional financial order that have given these “dark horses” the opportunity to showcase their skills in the virtual world, which is the best proof of Bitcoin’s role as an unregulated medium of exchange.

To the Left or to the Right?

The cryptocurrency ecosystem has developed for over a decade since the birth of Bitcoin. With more and more people participating and due to its unique technological characteristics, traditional organizations and governments have also gradually become aware of the existence of this emerging thing.

On the one hand, the decentralized and unregulated characteristics of cryptocurrencies have attracted the attention and participation of many people. They provide individuals with more financial freedom and opportunities, driving financial innovation and inclusive development. The chaos and uncertainty of the cryptocurrency market also bring huge potential returns to investors, attracting a large amount of venture capital and entrepreneurs.

On the other hand, regulatory agencies and traditional financial institutions’ intervention in cryptocurrencies is becoming more apparent. They are trying to introduce regulatory measures to ensure market transparency, stability, and investor protection. The entry of traditional financial institutions also brings more liquidity and legitimacy to cryptocurrencies, but at the same time, it also brings a certain degree of centralization and regulatory pressure.

However, since the beginning of this year, various regulatory measures have been implemented globally, and traditional financial institutions have been entering the field of cryptocurrency one after another. All these have forced the entire industry to stand at a crossroads of fate, facing an important choice: whether to continue to maintain the chaotic and attractive spirit of the Wild West pioneering, or to choose to come down from the mountain and seek peace as soon as possible? The answer to this question is still full of unknown variables.

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