China warns foreign spies about crypto, Singapore dominates Asia: Asia Express

CHINABeijing claims cryptocurrencies are ‘accomplices’ in espionageChina’s Ministry of State Security has toughened its rhetoric on the risks of cryptocurrencies, highlighting their role in crime and stressing transactions are not really anonymous.According to the South China Morning Post the spooks published an article on social media stating cryptocurrencies are used to facilitate money laundering and cyberattacks and serve as “accomplices” in espionage. The MSS stated that crypto is often used by “overseas anti-China hostile forces” to disrupt financial order and harm national security.The warning that crypto isn’t as anonymous as most people assume, seemed to be a coded warning aimed at would-be foreign spies who mistakenly believe they could send or receive payments without the authorities knowing:“Overseas intelligence agencies would try to dispel the concerns of people they were trying to recruit as spies by claiming that the circulation of virtual currencies was hard to verify, according to the Ministry.”We’re watching the blockchain was the message. While the warning holds true for most cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Monero or Zcash are totally private when us...