44% of payments in bitcoins are related to crimes: research

44% of transactions involving bitcoin are related to illegal activities. This conclusion was made by two experts in economics and finance at Sydney universities and a researcher at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga.
“We found out that about a quarter of bitcoin users and half of transactions are related to illegal activity,” the report quoted The Next Web as saying that the annual turnover of crypto-currency payments related to criminal activity is $ 72 billion, which is “close to the scale of the US drug markets and Europe”.
 
“Despite the many potential advantages of crypto-currencies, including faster and more efficient conclusion of the transaction, there are regulatory concerns about using them in illegal trade (drugs, burglaries and theft, illegal pornography and even killing for hire), their potential for financing terrorism, money laundering and evasion from control over the movement of capital, “the researchers noted.
 
At the same time, the report does not say that the crypto currency supports the growth of the black market – it can simply be used as an alternative payment method that makes “the purchase of illegal goods more affordable, convenient and less risky because of anonymity.” Illegal trade on-line, scientists said, simply “reflects the migration of activity that would otherwise occur on the street.”

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