Criminal Activity in Cryptos Down 80% Since 2013
According to Lilita Infante, a special agent with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), criminal activity now only accounts for 10% of the total Bitcoin transactions that take place today.
Lilita Infante is one of the members of the DEA’s 10-person Cyber Investigative Task Force, a team that investigates matters related to the dark web and virtual currencies. The Cyber Investigative Task Force also collaborates with other units from the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Bitcoin is Now Legitimate
In an interview, Infante stated that the ratio of criminal activity to legitimate has turned on its head since 2013.
She, however, clarified that this didn’t mean that criminals were no longer using cryptocurrencies for nefarious activities. Volumes of trade in cryptos have grown exponentially since 2013. Therefore, the number of transactions as well as the dollar value of Bitcoin have grown massively in criminal activity as well.
Despite that, the good news is that the ratio has gone down. Which means that Bitcoin is now more legitimate than it was in the past, with more than 90% of its trading being legal.
Mainstream industries have decried Bitcoin because of the assumption that it was the go-to currency for criminals looking for an alternative source of cash. Governments as well as regulators the world over have also focused on the usage of cryptocurrencies for illicit activities ranging from money laundering to funding terrorism.
However, as Bitcoin’s popularity has grown, more and more legitimate traders have entered the cryptocurrency market. Today, it is legal trading that is the mainstay of the crypto trading space, with price speculation being the main reason for most transactions.
Fighting Crime Using Blockchain
Infante stated that the dark web still exclusively uses cryptocurrencies to carry out criminal activities. Additionally, a growing trend that has been noticed in recent times is that criminal organizations such as drug cartels are also using cryptos with increasing frequency to carry out operations such as money laundering or cross-border transfers, since it is cheaper and faster to do so.
According to Infante, law enforcement agencies are also using Blockchain tech to their advantage. Cryptocurrencies’ blockchains are fixed and public, which means that all transactions can be tracked. Which means that these agencies can analyze data and identify criminal activities.
Another fear that regulators and market investors have is related to the anonymity focused cryptocurrencies. Infante said that while such cryptos may be more anonymous and less liquid than Bitcoin, the DEA still could track altcoins such as Monero and Zcash.
And while criminals may continue to use cryptos, Infante stated that the very same technology also gave them the tools to catch them.