A South Korean employee of a cryptocurrency exchange (CEX) has been sentenced to four years in prison for engaging in bribery and espionage activities on behalf of North Korea. The individual was found guilty of violating the National Security Law and counter-financing of terrorism (CFT) measures. The employee received $487,000 in Bitcoin from North Korean hackers to recruit a military officer, who was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison. The espionage operation involved the use of Telegram for communication and covert devices to infiltrate sensitive military systems. This case underscores the importance of regulatory frameworks similar to the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) in mitigating national security risks associated with cryptocurrency transactions.