According to a regional media outlet of Israel, the Shin Bet and the Fraud Unit of Tel Aviv District police detained a 27-year-old resident of Tel Aviv on June 22, 2025, over the suspension of carrying out an assignment for a hostile Iranian entity.
In the statement by the Security Agency of Israel and police spokesperson, the detained Tel Aviv resident was in touch with Iranian operatives for several months and has allegedly carried out several tasks under their direction.
The assigned or completed tasks by the arrested individual include capturing photographs of officials’ houses, collecting documents of military bases, and spray painting graffiti.
While investigating, the official found that the accused had received 1000s of dollars in payment in cryptocurrencies; at the time of the raid, computers and digital storage devices had been seized that are believed to be used to convey the information to the handler.
The investigating agency quotes, “ These organizations reach out through social media platforms, and we urge all citizens and residents of Israel not to engage with foreign actors or carry out any missions on their behalf.”
Further adds that, “ All security bodies will act with full force to bring anyone involved in such activity to justice and call on the public to immediately report any suspicious contact or solicitation attempts.”
How did the escalation between Iran and Israel affect the crypto?
Following the airstrikes, the Iranian crypto market saw a staggering outflow. Ordinary Iranians increasingly turned to crypto to preserve wealth and circumvent sanctions, as the Iranian rial continued to depreciate in value.
The wider crypto market saw an outflow of around $1 billion on June 13, 2025, at a time Bitcoin was seen below $100k, yet a few hours after it succeeded in recovering to $102k.
Iran’s Central Bank has also imposed strict control, limiting crypto exchange operating hours and restricting fiat-to-crypto conversion to curb capital flight.
The pro-Israeli hacking group, Gonjeshke Darande (Predatory Sparrow), hacked the popular crypto exchange Nobitex for $90 million in cryptocurrencies. It is largely argued that the hack was politically motivated, and the stolen funds were transferred to a burner wallet.
A quick brief of the crypto market
As of writing, the cryptocurrency market capitalization was $3.24 trillion with an intraday surge of 3.98%, and the trading volume was $153.73 billion.
The crypto fear and greed index was at 47, indicating neutrality, and Bitcoin is at $105,184 with an increase of 3.25% in the past 24 hours.
According to the data from CoinMarketCap, the intraday gainers list has been ruled by the Sei, followed by Dogwifhat, Jasmy Coin, Sonic, Virtual Protocol, Jupiter, Injective, and SPX6900.
On the other hand, the weekly gainers are Sei, Kaia, Jasmy Coin, Aerodrome Finance, Dogwifhat, Four, Algorand, Sonic, and Gate Token.
