A striking claim in the cryptocurrency market has been brought to light by on-chain analyst Taylor Monahan. Monahan alleges that IT personnel with ties to North Korea (DPRK) played an active role in the development of many major crypto protocols, dating back to the period known as the “DeFi Summer.”
According to the analyst, these individuals were involved not only in small projects but also in leading platforms in the industry. Monahan cited well-known projects such as SushiSwap, THORChain, Harmony, Ankr, Shiba Inu, Yearn Finance, and Floki as examples. Monahan noted that the list he shared represents only a limited portion and that many more projects may have been affected.
According to the analyst’s statements, the projects allegedly contributed to by developers with DPRK ties are listed as follows: SushiSwap, THORChain, Yam, Pickle, Harvest, Reclaim, Swing, Paid, Naos, Shezmu, Qrolli, Saffron, Sifu, Napier, Harmony, Blueberry, Stabble, OneRing, Elemental, Divvy, LAToken, Impermax, Kira, Cook, Fantom, Ankr, Gamerse, Metaplay, Spice, Beanstalk, DeltaPrime, MagicCraft, Hector, DeSpace, Depo, CreamFi, Shiba Inu, Kuma Inu, Starlink, Yearn, Floki.
Another noteworthy aspect of the statement concerned the claims in the developers’ resumes, such as “7 years of blockchain development experience.” Monahan defended these claims, arguing that the DPRK-linked IT employees had been active in the industry for a long time and possessed high technical expertise.
*This is not investment advice.
