Pentagon Believes Crypto Is A Threat To National Security

The Pentagon is not a very big fan of cryptocurrency…

Per the Washington Post, the military’s innovation unit is launching an investigation on how cryptocurrencies can be used as a threat to national security.

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is currently attempting to develop tools to decipher crypto inner works in an attempt to predict the crypto market.

The Pentagon claims the new tools and innovations will be used to thwart terrorists, war criminals, and rogue regimes but not everybody is taking the Pentagon’s word.

Many crypto holders believe the Pentagon’s move is an attempt to smother the crypto market in an attempt to limit Americans from obtaining financial freedom.

Pentagon launches effort to assess crypto’s threat to national security https://t.co/SYC3EUa2rl

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 23, 2022

⚠️ Pentagon launches effort to assess crypto’s threat to national security

New project is part of the U.S. government’s wider crackdown on illicit uses of digital assets

via https://t.co/wXVagA44VKhttps://t.co/RownZ66cYm

— PiQ  (@PriapusIQ) September 23, 2022

Washington Post had more details on the story:

The military’s innovation office is launching a sweeping review of cryptocurrencies to assess threats to national security and law enforcement posed by the rise of digital assets.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — better known as DARPA, the office that developed the earliest technology undergirding the internet — has hired crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital to conduct the year-long project. The company will develop tools that give the Pentagon a granular view of crypto markets’ inner workings, in part to help authorities crack down on illicit uses of digital assets.

“The program underway here involves mapping out the cryptocurrency universe in some detail,” Mark Flood, a program manager with the agency, said in an interview with The Washington Post. Beyond fighting illicit finance, the office aims to use the data for insights into dynamics shaping traditional financial markets, where detailed information is harder to gather.

The deal is the latest evidence that federal agencies are ramping up efforts to thwart rogue regimes, terrorists and other criminal actors using crypto to fund their operations.

The Treasury Department last month issued its first-ever sanctions against software code to target Tornado Cash, a service that helped North Korean hackers and others launder stolen crypto. This week, the department issued a request for public input on crypto’s national security and illicit finance risks. Separately, the Justice Department this month announced that it’s launching a national network of 150 prosecutors to coordinate crypto-related investigations and prosecutions.

Pentagon launches effort to assess crypto's threat to national security – The Washington Post: Pentagon launches effort to assess crypto's threat to national security  The Washington Post https://t.co/XshuipsGMt pic.twitter.com/0TTHj322Zi

— Trade the journey (@JourneyTrade) September 23, 2022

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