Pentagon Announces New Cryptocurrency Supervision Initiative: What’s Their Goal?

According to a report by the Washington Post, the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, has launched a new program to examine various cryptocurrencies and determine what threats they may pose to national security.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA, which developed the first technology that underpins the internet, has commissioned crypto information company Inca Digital to run the year-long project.

New Initiative to Provide Pentagon with Information on Internal Working of Cryptocurrency Markets

The company will develop tools that will give the Pentagon a detailed insight into the inner workings of crypto markets, specifically to help authorities prevent the illegal use of digital assets.

“The program run here involves making a detailed map of the cryptocurrency universe,” Mark Flood, one of the institution’s program managers, told The Washington Post.

In addition to combating illegal finance, the institution aims to use this data to understand the dynamics that shape traditional financial markets, where detailed information is more difficult to gather.

Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department passed the first sanction decision on software code targeting Tornado Cash, which helps North Korean hackers and other criminals launder stolen cryptocurrencies.

The U.S. Department of Justice also this month, bitcoin announced that it will establish a national network of 150 prosecutors to coordinate investigations and prosecutions related to cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrencies.

“We need to recognize that the financial sector can be a part of modern warfare ahead, and anything we can do to strengthen and protect the US financial sector and those of our allies will be beneficial,” said Flood, a former Treasury official who studies systemic financial data.

*Not investment advice.