US Think Tank: Terrorists and Cartels May Abuse Digital Currencies
A US government-funded think tank has released a report that explores the implications of digital currencies issued by "non-state actors" like terrorist groups, drug cartels and insurgencies. The report by the RAND Corporation, entitled "National Security Implications of Virtual Currency", was published earlier this week. The more than 100-page report focuses primarily on hypothetical scenarios in which entities in conflict zones could seek to use a digital currency in a bid to create a domestic transaction network outside of the existing financial system. On the subject of the benefits of....
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Bitcoin in the Headlines is a weekly analysis of industry media coverage and its impact. Due to their status as both an emerging payment method and payments technology, global authorities have long sought to ensure safeguards are in place to prevent digital currencies from being abused by cybercriminals and terrorists seeking to take advantage of their cash-like features. This narrative was given new prominence this week following the terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, which left more than 100 people dead and that have found law enforcement agencies and politicians seeking to take....
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There are times we feel like Bill Murray in the movie “Groundhog Day.” No matter what we do, we’re subjected to the same surroundings and events. Everywhere we look, we see the same thing over and over again. Things tend to become routine. It becomes mundane and to a degree, even a little irritating. Today is one of those days; a recently published article details a think tank’s findings regarding bitcoin and digital currency, and surprise! Those involved in the think tank believe that insurgencies and radical groups ranging from drug cartels to terrorist units will find further ways to....
The European Union's law enforcement agency, Europol, has stated, in its recently published report, that the use of Bitcoin in financing terrorist activities has not been confirmed. Despite the clear conclusion reached in this report, another EU bureaucracy arm, the European Commision, has only just come out with a comprehensive package to tackle "terrorist financing". It seems this proposal is more about tightening capital controls than "fighting terrorism," as digital currency economy accounts for only a tiny fraction of global money transfers. "To prevent their abuse for money....