The post Crypto Espionage is a Big Threat to the US, Says Ex-CIA Official appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Crypto has become a common currency in global espionage operations since the birth of Bitcoin. Bad actors increasingly use digital assets to finance illicit activity imperceptibly. However, law enforcement agencies aren’t taking the threat seriously enough.  Matthew Hedger, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer and expert in anti-money laundering, insider risk, and organized crime, told BeInCrypto that state actors using crypto for global espionage isn’t new. Despite this, the United States is already over a decade behind in its ability to identify, track, and contain these cases. Crypto’s Covert Rise in Global Espionage Cryptocurrency use has always been tied, one way or another, to illicit activity. Its borderless nature and perceived untraceability have consistently made it a vital tool for illegal schemes. The increasing number of cases coming to light that explicitly link cryptocurrency to bad actors only intensifies this troubling reality. In 2023, Polish authorities dismantled a Russian spy ring of young, untrained agents recruited online for sabotage against Ukrainian aid, who received crypto payments. By December 2024, the UK’s Operation Destabilize had broken up a multi-billion-dollar Russian-linked money laundering network. Entities like Smart Group used cash-to-crypto swaps to fund espionage, evade sanctions, and launder illicit proceeds globally. Earlier this month, US prosecutors charged Russian national Iurii Gugnin with laundering over $530 million in cryptocurrency, allegedly funding Russian intelligence and bypassing sanctions. Just last week, Reuters published an investigation on Laken Pavan, a Canadian teenager, who was arrested in Poland in May 2024 after confessing to spying for Russian intelligence and receiving Bitcoin payments from his handler. While crypto is often seen as a tool for common criminals, state actors have been leveraging it since its inception.  A Veteran’s Perspective: Crypto as an Established Threat Hedger, a former intelligence officer with 17 years of experience in the intelligence…

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Filed under: News - @ June 23, 2025 10:28 pm