Hot take: states should STEAL crypto from insecure custodians operating inside their own borders. $2 billion in crypto was stolen by North Korea in 2025.
Lax security isn’t a private failure. It’s a national security risk. Every poorly protected exchange or bridge becomes low-hanging fruit for foreign adversaries, ransomware gangs, and sanctioned states.
If assets are going to be stolen anyway, better they’re stolen by the state than permanently lost to hostile actors.
This would function as a security tax.
Some fraction of the proceeds will be used to fund development of more sophisticated hacking techniques.
Some can go into a sovereign wealth fund.
The rest can return to the source wallet after the victims have proven they have tightened their security.
Invest properly in custody, or pay for failure
Incentives become immediate, not theoretical
Foreign attackers are denied easy access
We already ground unsafe aircraft and shut down non-compliant banks. Crypto shouldn’t get a free pass just because the theft is digital.