The United States military is studying digital currencies like bitcoin to learn if they can be traced and to figure out how they are used by America's adversaries around the world. <\/p>\n
CNBC has learned that the global policy counsel of the Bitcoin Foundation flew to Florida to meet with officials from U.S. Special Operations Command for a daylong discussion Monday on the role of so-called cryptocurrenciesof which bitcoin is the best knownin illicit finance. <\/p>\n
The first-of-its-kind discussion came just as U.S. warplanes began flying missions over Syria in President Barack Obama's effort to check the advance of the Islamic terror network ISIS. A key priority for the U.S. military is stopping the flow of money to ISIS fighters and blocking the network's ability to process profits from kidnapping, extortion and illicit oil sales. <\/p>\n
The military's interest in virtual currency is part of an overall effort by special operations forces to understand how their enemies finance themselves, and what intelligence special operators can glean by following the illicit money. <\/p>\n
\"We're trying to do our best to understand the true scope of the threat that we are dealing with.\" <\/p>\n
\"We're trying to do our best to understand the true scope of the threat that we are dealing with,\" said a defense official who attended the meeting. \"We have to fully understand all of the components and functions of the adversary across the globenot just in Syria and Iraqand the manner in which those adversaries raise, hide and move money.\" <\/p>\n
Defense officials said ISIS is part of a global dark network on the Internet that is involved in the use of virtual currencyalthough ISIS itself is \"principally funded through means other than virtual currency.\" <\/p>\n
The invitation-only event, called simply the \"Virtual Currency Workshop,\" was held at an office building in downtown Tampa near MacDill Air Force Base where Special Operations Command is based, and it included a meet-and-greet cocktail party at the Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina on Sunday evening. <\/p>\n
It was organized by a little-known but highly influential group called Business Executives for National Security, which facilitates connections between American business leaders and the U.S. military. <\/p>\n
The group's members include a who's who of America's corporate and financial elite, according to its website, including Jeff Bezos of Amazon, former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg and David Koch of Koch Industries. <\/p>\n
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Can Bitcoin Help Stop Flow of Funds to Terrorists?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The United States military is studying digital currencies like bitcoin to learn if they can be traced and to figure out how they are used by America's adversaries around the world. CNBC has learned that the global policy counsel of the Bitcoin Foundation flew to Florida to meet with officials from U.S Continue reading