2026-05-14

# Govts have paid spies using cryptocurrency

Disclaimer
 - **Quick Note**
 - **Contains politically sensitive info**

Main
 - In 1994, Timothy May wrote about Blacknet [1](https://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/articles/crypto/cypherpunks/blacknet.txt) [2](https://osaka.law.miami.edu/froomkin/articles/tcmay.htm) [3](https://mailing-list-archive.cryptoanarchy.wiki/archive/1994/02/49c4bfea7e801eb5c095aeadc207817d497837df72774888f5b8562afbf30397/), which would allow you to create anonymous cryptocurrency bounties in return for leaked information, even classified information.
 - During operation of wikileaks, Assange also published cryptocurrency bounties for leaking information to him.
 - Govts have also paid spies using cryptocurrency, although the amounts are much smaller than I imagined. Not posting examples right now, you can ask AI (gpt-5.5 reasoning: high web_search: enabled) for examples.
 - It seems only a matter of time until someone scales up the amounts, correct? It only takes one govt to increase the bounty amounts, for this to become normalised.