North Korea's six-month infiltration campaign at Drift has raised questions about why it continues to use crypto to evade sanctions, unlike other states like Russia and Iran. Experts suggest that crypto helps the regime maintain a revenue stream and fund weapons programs. While Russia uses crypto to circumvent sanctions, Iran uses it to fund proxy networks across the Middle East. However, North Korea is using crypto as a primary funding mechanism for its nuclear and ballistic missile development. This shift in approach has led to North Korean operatives to adopt tactics more commonly associated with intelligence agencies than criminal hackers. Crypto's architecture makes it an attractive hunting ground for hackers, making it more difficult to detect fraudulent transfers. The industry's focus on speed and governance controls can leave even sophisticated teams vulnerable to sophisticated teams.