FBI weighs crypto for informant payments, but the blockchain never forgets
A DOJ watchdog report says FBI staff see crypto as a way to pay informants. Public ledgers could expose them, though, and the report doesn't say how they'd be protected.

A DOJ Inspector General report published October 28 quotes FBI personnel saying cryptocurrency may be an effective way to pay confidential informants, a method not contemplated under current Attorney General guidelines, which permit electronic payments only in "extraordinary circumstances." The report recommends evaluating electronic payment methods, citing risks with commercial banks in sensitive transactions. Public blockchains, however, preserve transaction history accessible to anyone. While addresses don't directly reveal identities, investigators can sometimes identify users by combining blockchain analysis tools with exchange records obtained via legal process. The report doesn't specify which cryptocurrency would be used or how informants would be protected.

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