Georgia Protests ‘Are Funded by Overseas Crypto,’ Claims Security Service

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) has accused overseas actors of funding the ongoing protests in the country through cryptocurrency. Thousands of people have been protesting in Tbilisi and other cities, expressing their opposition to a proposed bill that would label political and civil society NGOs receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas as “foreign agents.” The SSSG claims that the protest organizers are using cryptocurrency to hide their funding sources and are planning disruptive activities, such as sabotaging traffic networks and blocking railway networks. The agency also alleges that foreign trainers conducted cryptocurrency transaction-related training sessions in Georgia earlier this year. The SSSG believes that the goal of the protests is to provoke violence and disrupt law enforcement agencies. The protests have caused concern about Georgia’s bid to join the European Union, and some European Parliament members have called for revisiting Georgia’s EU membership candidate status in response to the government’s handling of the protests.