Coins and Conflict: How crypto fuels the modern battlefield

From bankrolling ballistic missiles in North Korea to arming militants in Gaza, cryptocurrency is quietly shaping the favored battlefield. Once hailed as a instrument for deepest monetary freedom, it has also change proper into a dark lifeline for regimes and groups in the hunt for to avoid sanctions and scrutiny.

The identical decentralized networks that allow dissidents and battle-torn nations rep donations with out middlemen are also enabling the financing of nuclear weapons, drones, and different lethal hardware. Hamas solicits crypto contributions to fund its operations, while North Korea’s Lazarus Neighborhood has stolen billions in digital assets — with a big portion allegedly funneled into its nuclear program. In Ukraine and Russia, decent channels and grassroots campaigns alike possess tapped Bitcoin and different coins to equip armies, underscoring how digital currencies possess change into as significant a weapon of battle as a store of charge.

North Korean nuclear protection force program

Arguably, basically the most tense occasion of cryptocurrencies getting used for deadly weapon pattern is the nuclear program of the Democratic Folks’s Republic of Korea. A hacker organization, the Lazarus Neighborhood, which succeeded in stealing billions of bucks worth of cryptocurrencies from the cryptocurrency exchanges, is believed to be supported by the Pyongyang regime.

Lazarus Neighborhood utilized one of many ideal heists in historical previous once they stole $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency from the ByBit commerce. Twenty p.c of the funds disappeared into untraceable wallets, making it no longer likely the funds will ever be recovered.

Elliptic’s Tom Robinson attributes the success to high sophistication of the hackers enthusiastic, years of ride, plod, and relentless focal level on the target.

There is not any such thing as an awfully good knowledge on how significant of the crypto stolen by North Korean hackers is used to fund the nation’s nuclear program. On the different hand, a source shut to the topic said that around 40% of the stolen crypto funds are used for the development of ballistic missiles.

Crypto as a fundraising instrument for the duration of protection force conflicts

Each and every Ukraine and Russia possess used cryptocurrency addresses to solicit donations for weapons, ammunition, and different protection force offers.

In March 2022, soon after Russia launched an invasion on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the “On Digital Property” legislation, organising a proper framework for digital assets and regulating crypto exchanges and wallets. It allowed the nation to raise donations from internationally extra freely while going via increasing financial lines. In June, the Ukrainian Rada presented a unique bill allowing the central bank to protect bitcoins alongside its gold reserves.

In August 2022, then Deputy High Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov declared that Ukraine spent $54 million worth of donated crypto on the army’s needs, alongside with helmets, armor vests, rifle scopes, weapons, and heaps others.

As of Aug. 7, 2025, Arkham Intelligence displays upright 0.133 BTC on Ukraine’s steadiness. Elliptic parts out that of $78 million of donations raised by Ukraine after the battle escalation, only 1% used to be raised via Bitcoin. These discrepancies make it advanced to resolve the particular Bitcoin holdings of Ukraine. In response to every other article by Elliptic, Ukrainian fundraisers managed to amass dozens of millions of bucks in donations in 2023.

In response to a preferred misconception, Ukraine owns around 46,000 BTC. On the different hand, this evaluation refers to the blended Bitcoin holdings that Ukrainian officers gained between 2018 and 2021. It is a ways presumably not that they’re related with the sizzling Ukraine Bitcoin holdings. Barely, this amount represents an estimation of deepest holdings Ukrainian public servants had sooner than 2022.

Russia also used crypto for the duration of the protection force battle with Ukraine. Besides to evading sanctions in worldwide commerce, Russia’s spend of crypto for the duration of the battle with Ukraine comprises accepting donations that fund the Russian army.

On Jul. 29, 2022, Chainalysis printed its findings on the sphere. Investigators identified 54 organizations that raised $2.2 million. The money used to be used to aquire drones, weapons, armor vests, and heaps others. On the least a pair of of the entities conducting crowdfunding for the Russian army are sanctioned.

Hamas depends on fundraising via crypto donations, too. Donations to Hamas are classified as funding terrorism, and U.S. authorities take such cryptocurrency.

The battle-pushed demand for accurate-time intelligence, stable communications, and decentralized finance hasn’t long gone left out by protection tech companies. As governments dash to watch and counter crypto-fueled operations, corporations admire Palantir possess emerged as serious partners — marrying mammoth knowledge analytics with battlefield approach.

Doable Bitcoin pivot of Palantir

Founded in 2003, Palantir has evolved proper into a multifaceted firm. The Denver, Colorado-primarily primarily based fully company has partnered with the U.S. Military since 2008. Its products are used by the U.S. Department of Defense and different police agencies. Surprisingly ample, while the firm is carefully tied to influential crypto advocates, it would not broadly spend cryptocurrencies.

In 2021, Palantir’s Chief Monetary Officer, David Glazer, said the firm used to be brooding about adding Bitcoin to its steadiness sheet — one thing that, as of Aug. 8, has no longer came about. That identical year, nonetheless, Palantir started accepting Bitcoin funds. Some imagine creating an organization Bitcoin reserve would possess strengthened Palantir’s approach, nonetheless the firm has yet to totally wade into the crypto waters.

President Donald Trump is a fan of Palantir, while Peter Thiel — the firm’s chairman and co-founder — is its most eminent cryptocurrency fanatic. Thiel, who made beneficiant donations to J.D. Vance’s 2022 advertising and marketing campaign, is an avid crypto investor with a 9.1% stake in Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine. As of Aug. 8, 2025, his crypto commerce, Bullish, is pursuing an IPO focusing on a $4.23 billion valuation.

Despite being criticized for enabling racist police profiling, deportations, and mass surveillance, Palantir executed a predominant step forward this year. On Aug. 5, it secured a ten-year, $10 billion address the U.S. Military. The firm also reported its first billion-dollar income year, with CNN calling it “one of many buzziest (and most dear) stocks on Wall Road” and noting that its valuation now exceeds that of The Walt Disney Co. and American Instruct blended.

Palantir’s know-how has been used by Israel and Ukraine of their respective protection force conflicts. Some imagine the firm played a just in tracking down al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Weighted down, even though co-founder Alex Karp downplays the rumor. In an interview with The New York Instances, relating to Palantir’s work, he said, “Saving lives and veritably taking lives is dapper attention-grabbing.”

Given Thiel’s deep exposure to the crypto markets, Palantir’s restricted Bitcoin historical previous, and its purchasers’ involvement in crypto, some speculate the firm might perhaps perchance well adopt Bitcoin extra fully in some unspecified time in the future.