UNTOUCHABLE

Even ISIS Is Getting Into NFTs

National security experts warn that non-fungible tokens on the blockchain could be used to target new recruits.

A digital announcement posted by the Islamic State on Aug. 26 that praised an explosive attack against a Taliban vehicle in Afghanistan’s capital, killing 21 people, came in an unusual form: an NFT. Non-fungible tokens, which represent a link in a digital currency’s blockchain similar to a receipt at checkout, have largely been associated with digital music and art markets, but ISIS’ new application could prove much more insidious. Although it’s just one NFT created by an ISIS supporter, experts believe it could be the first in a long string of untouchable terrorism placards potentially used for recruitment, reports The Wall Street Journal. The Treasury Department wrote in a February assessment that the borderless nature of NFTs “nearly instantaneously makes digital art susceptible to exploitation by those seeking to launder illicit proceeds of crime.”