Millions in crypto funded tools to exploit U.S. software, Treasury says in new sanctions

Policy Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Millions in crypto funded tools to exploit U.S. software, Treasury says in new sanctions An Australian national was said to sell cyber tools designed for the U.S. government and its allies to a Russian company known as Operation Zero. By Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Nikhilesh De Feb 24, 2026, 7:48 p.m. Make us preferred on Google The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned a company that bought stolen U.S. technology using digital assets. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk) What to know : The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned a Russian company and the individuals associated with it for dealing in stolen technology purchased with millions in cryptocurrency. The technology was designed by a defense contractor for use by the U.S. government, and one of the contractor's employees was said to have stolen it and sold it to Operation Zero, the target of the new sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a Russian company, Operation Zero , and the individuals behind it after accusing them of buying stolen cyber tools for millions in cryptocurrency and re-selling those technologies, which were created to be used by the U.S. government. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . The tools bought and sold by newly sanctioned Sergey Sergeyevich Zelenyuk and his business, Operation Zero, were said to be originally stolen by an Australian national, Peter Williams, who once worked at the defense contractor that made the national-security focused software "for the exclusive use of the U.S. government and select allies." Williams pleaded guilty last year to selling trade secrets. "Treasury will continue to work alongside the rest of the Trump Administration to protect sensitive American intellectual property and safeguard our national security," said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement. Zelenyuk and the others are said to be the first people to be sanctioned under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act. The sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control block U.S. people from any business dealings with those flagged or with others who do business with them."Operation Zero has sought to recruit hackers to support its activities and develop business relationships with foreign intelligence agencies through use of social media," the Treasury Department said in its statement. The accusations say the tools were offered for sale to those seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in computer software. While the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control alleged that cryptocurrencies were used in the transactions, it did not list specific addresses for blacklisting. Read More: Criminal use of crypto spikes after years of steady decline, TRM report says U.S. Treasury Department Sanctions Office of Foreign Assets Control Russia More For You Fed proposes rule to deal with crypto debanking by scrapping 'reputation risk' By Olivier Acuna | Edited by Jesse Hamilton 1 hour ago The proposal would cut the risk factor from Fed oversight and bar supervisors from pushing banks to cut off disfavored businesses, including in crypto. What to know : The U.S. Federal Reserve has proposed a rule that would set in stone its previous actions to toss out "reputation risk" as a factor in bank supervision, which is believed to have contributed to the debanking of crypto insiders and firms. The move, open for a 60-day public comment period, would stop supervisors from pushing bankers to sever ties with politically disfavored businesses. Read full story Latest Crypto News Fed proposes rule to deal with crypto debanking by scrapping 'reputation risk' 1 hour ago From niche to $3 billion run rate: prediction markets eye $10 billion future, Citizens says 1 hour ago Bitcoin retakes $64,000, crypto miners rally, as AI-related software rout eases 2 hours ago Stripe's Bridge sees stablecoin volume quadruple as utility insulates from 'crypto winter' 3 hours ago Kraken rolls out crypto-style, 24/7 perpetuals trading for tokenized U.S. stocks 4 hours ago Adam Back's BSTR moving forward with public listing plans, hopes for April approval 4 hours ago Top Stories Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is planning stablecoin comeback in the second half of this year 5 hours ago 'If you’re not accumulating bitcoin at this stage, then when,' asks prominent analyst 6 hours ago Coinbase adds stock, ETF trading as it expands beyond crypto 5 hours ago Putting the treasury to work: The Ethereum Foundation just staked 70,000 ETH to fund its future 9 hours ago Jane Street faces claims of insider trading that sped up Terraform's 2022 collapse 14 hours ago