Hackers revealed that 986 unique BTC wallets have allegedly been used by Russian state intelligence groups, amid the complicated relationship between crypto and the Russian government. 

A recently deleted Chainalysis report from April 26 revealed that by using the blockchain feature OP_RETURN, which allows senders to attach messages on transactions, Bitcoiners could trace the more “aggressive usage of BTC” by Russian State intelligence groups. Almost 1000 wallets were linked to Russia’s Foreign Military Intelligence Agency (GRU), Federal Security Service (FSB), and Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

The OP_RETURN feature, according to the Bitcoin Wiki, allows a user to void the transaction and “has at times been used to convey additional information needed to send transactions,” meaning that burned transactions can also broadcast and keep added messages on the blockchain forever. The so-called “OP_RETURN vigilante” burned over $300,000 in BTC to send messages via BTC transactions to these addresses between February 14, 2022 and March 14, 2022—putting the start of Russia’s Ukraine invasion right in the middle of the informant’s quest. 

The transactions included the four following texts in Russian: 

• “GR

Go to Source to See Full Article
Author: Emily Tonelli

Did you like this?
Tip BTC Newswire with Cryptocurrency

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Monero
• ZCash

Donate Bitcoin to BTC Newswire

Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some bitcoin:

Donate via Installed Wallet Copy

[X] Click Here to Hide Donation Details

Donate Bitcoin Cash to BTC Newswire

Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send bitcoin:

Donate via Installed Wallet Copy

[X] Click Here to Hide Donation Details

Donate Ethereum to BTC Newswire

Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Ether:

Donate via Installed Wallet Copy

[X] Click Here to Hide Donation Details

Donate Litecoin to BTC Newswire

Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Litecoin:

Donate via Installed Wallet Copy

[X] Click Here to Hide Donation Details

Donate Monero to BTC Newswire

Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Monero:

Donate via Installed Wallet Copy

[X] Click Here to Hide Donation Details

Donate ZCash to BTC Newswire

Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some ZCash:

Copy ZCash Address

[X] Click Here to Hide Donation Details