Are Governments Really Worried About Cryptocurrency Like Bitcoin, Being Used for Money Laundering?

Are Governments Really Worried About Cryptocurrency Like Bitcoin, Being Used for Money Laundering?

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We all know the old saying, “Don’t listen to what people say, watch what they do”. Recently we have seen countries around the world announce that they are working on their own versions of digital currencies. Those of us in cryptocurrency laugh because we all know that these currencies may appear to be similar to our money but we all know that these currencies will just be centralized, inflationary and worst of all transparent.

You might say, “Randy, transparency is good.” I could think of many instances where transparency is great. Here are a few instances where transparency would be welcome. 

  1. Government
  2. Charities
  3. Politics
  4. Food Supply
  5. Natural Resources
  6. Voting
  7. Ticketing
  8. Gaming

I am sure you can think of a few more. The cool thing about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is that many of these applications are already being built.

What About My Money Randy? Should it Be Transparent?

Absolutely not, I think money should stay private as much as possible. What business does your neighbor, your local politician, your local police department, your countries police force or corporations have in knowing your private business? You would think after years of seeing corruption around the globe that people would wake up to the fact that governments, police, and corporations are not here to protect us but rather they are there to protect their own interests. 

Now Let’s Look At What the UK Government Actually Thinks About the Risk of Money Laundering with Cryptocurrency or Digital Currencies.

Here is a chart from the UK government where they have put together a “National risk assessment on money laundering”. The chart was originally published in 2015. The text below is from 2017.

 

  • In 2015, the risks associated with digital currencies were assessed to be low for both money laundering and terrorist financing. There remains little evidence of digital currencies being used as an established tool for money laundering, and the money laundering risk is therefore still assessed to be low. However, the link between digital currencies and cyber-enabled crime means that this risk is likely to increase. While digital currencies could in theory be used to facilitate and finance terrorist activity, the lack of evidence of this occurring and the greater attractiveness of other methods mean that digital currencies continue to be assessed as low risk for terrorist financing.
  • The vulnerabilities identified in the 2015 NRA were largely around the anonymity and cross-border exposure of digital currencies, as well as the lack of interaction with the regulated sector. Digital currencies have only become marginally more mainstream since 2015, but the market is diversifying and growing with other currencies (many of which have enhanced anonymity) taking market share from the historically dominant Bitcoin.

I Don’t Know About You But I Don’t See a Government That is Very Worried About CryptoCurrency.

Why would governments around the world scream from the rooftops about the use of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin as a means for money laundering and facilitating crime? I will tell you why “they want to have their own digital currencies!” The UK is just being more open than other nations concerning the issue. As you can see from the chart above the biggest risk is banks!

In a World, That is Growing More Transparent Maybe it is Time We Choose to Keep Our Money Private.

We have many options in cryptocurrency to facilitate privacy. Some are more private than others. My favorite new technology is MimbleWimble. Transact privately without having your transactions publicly logged on the blockchain for the world to see. My favorite Mimblewimble cryptocurrency is Epic Cash. Some other MimbleWimble projects to check out include Grin and Beam.

Once Again, “Don’t listen to what people say, watch what they do” Regarding Digital Money.

In this case, we are talking about governments and of course the banks. It is amusing to sit back and watch politicians and bankers come out and bash cryptocurrency while they have their minions building their own form of centralized digital money. Keep your money private!

I want to thank Crypto-4-Beginners for Finding This Gem of a Document!

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