William Burns, the current director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), said that his predecessor in the agency had initiated projects aimed at gathering information on crypto-currency.

Ask a question about crypto at Wall Street JournalSummit for CEO Council on Monday at Burns The CIA wanted to increase its expertise in cryptocurrencies, blockchain and other areas. It also communicated with experts in the field. He said the challenges from the crypto space “could have enormous impact” on the United States given what he has already seen in ransomware attacks.