Criminalsusecryptocurrenciessuch asBitcoinfor various purposes: launderingdirty money,scamming victimsout of funds,defraudinginvestors,monetizingransomware, orbuying illicitgoods.
For years, reports have also suggested that well-known terroristorganizationssuch as ISIS or Al-Qaeda wereusingcryptocurrenciesto procurefunding.
HardForkhas covered countless stories aboutcryptocurrency-fueledcrime.
Weve also covered instances wherelaw enforcementhassuccessfully caught the culprits.
But sometimes thecriminalshelp investigators by inadvertentlydoxxing themselves.
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When runningSilk RoadRoss Ulbrichtdid this by using aliases that were identifiable and traceable back to his real-world identity.
The fact thatBitcointransactions leave a trace is not enough to detercriminals.
The archetypalcryptocurrencycrime is that oftheftofcryptocurrency.
This began with exchange hacks, as we saw withMt Gox, Delingpole added.
Law enforcementagencies arent working alone, though.
They are in fact actively collaborating with several specialized firms in thespacesuch as ComplyAdvantage and Elliptic.
Based inLondon, and founded by Tom Robinson in 2013, Elliptic provides blockchain analysis services.
Elliptics tools are based on blockchain monitoring.
This means that we have to continually collectdatarelating tocryptocurrencyaddresses associated with this illicitactivity, Robinson noted.
To achieve this, Elliptic has ateamof data analysts and uses several automatedprocesses.
Ofcourse, this is not as easy as it sounds.
Thechallengewe face is that not everycryptocurrencyexchangeusestoolslike ours, and so there is always somewherecriminalscan cash-out without being caught.
We [ComplyAdvantage] help file suspicious activity reports directly to FINCEN and other regulators around the world.
The structural fundamentals ofcryptocurrenciesmakes it very easy to facilitatecrime.
With legitimateflowsmasking illegalflows, it is very easy forcriminalsto launder money throughcryptocurrencies.
That was the first time Id ever heard ofBitcoin.
Without the technology underlyingBitcoin, we never would have been able to catch thosepeople.
Her most extensivecaseto date saw Haun investigatewhite-collar crimeand public corruption, where government agents were exploiting early adopters ofcryptocurrency.
Had thatcrimebeen committed incash, Haun toldCNBC, it would have been nearly impossible to track thesepeopledown.
Just recently, Christopher Wray, theagencys director, saidcryptocurrencieswere a significant problem that will get bigger and bigger.
In June last year, the Bureau said it had130 active cryptocurrency investigations.
TheEuropean UnionAgency forLaw EnforcementCooperation (EUROPOL) is also working to keepcryptocurrencycriminals at bay.
A few weeks after that, theagency alongside several otherforcesclamped downoncryptocurrencymixing service Bestmixer.io.
Inorderto mass adoption to occur, there needs to be more day to day adoption ofcryptocurrenciesby averageusers, theentrepreneurcontinued.
Cashmay still be king, but ifcriminalswant to operateonline,cryptocurrenciesare their financialweaponsof choice.
