Published
5 years ago on
September 21, 2018
“The abuse of cryptocurrencies by cybercriminals continues to play a pivotal role in the commission, perpetration and monetisation of cybercrime. They remain the primary payment mechanism for the payment of criminal services, a plethora of goods on darknet markets and for extortion demands, whether as a result of ransomware, DDoS attacks or other methods.â€Is this an ancient view on crypto? We believe that this statement is latching on to some of Bitcoins dark history and that Europol are failing to recognise Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a part of our technological future. We know that European countries are quite keen on cryptocurrency, however with Europol now weighing in, adoption across Europe could start to becoming a less promising concept. What does this all mean? Simply put, Europol are just warning EU members of the potential risk of cryptocurrencies, in reference to their use in crime and other such illicit activities. They aren’t suggesting a ban, but they are kickstarting a paranoia that they hope will encourage EU member states to employ large cryptocurrency task forces, forces that will concentrate on the control and regulation of cryptocurrencies in their respective countries. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, though we do think Europol have gone the wrong way about it. Thankfully, the crypto community on the whole are equally against these cyber criminals and those that are using cryptocurrency to fund their own criminal efforts. The best way to stamp this out isn’t to spend money on investigators in order to bolster police forces, instead, the way to combat this crime and leave it in Bitcoin’s history is if we work together to ensure cyber criminals can be held accountable for what they do. If this involves accepting and dealing with certain regulations then it’s something we all need to do. Welcome safe and honest regulation, and hopefully Europol’s threats won’t become a reality. References The Times of Malta
