Pre-Bitcoin Virtual Currencies: Murder, Terrorism, Child Pornography
Long before the existence of virtual currencies backed by the complexity of cryptography, there were a multitude of virtual currencies, most of which backed by the value of gold bullion. Before Bitcoin appeared on the scene, the industry was plagued by all manner of drama, from murder to cases of widespread use of funds for terrorism, child pornography, and other forms of criminality. Murder of e-Bullion co-founder. e-Bullion was an Internet-based digital gold currency founded by payza inc of Moorpark, California, as part of their Goldfinger Coin & Bullion group of companies. The....
Related News
The International Center for Missing and Exploited Children has joined forces with Thomson Reuters to examine what impact digital currencies are having on criminal activities such as child trafficking. This task force is working with the Bitcoin Foundation to see whether decentralized currencies play a role. Together, the organizations will tackle digital money laundering as a means to support human trafficking, child pornography and other crimes. ICMEC has in the past drawn connections between commercial child pornography and the fact that most people buying it were using credit cards. It....
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) became the largest online distributor of child pornography during a recent case, according to a motion filed by a group of defense attorneys. FBI Increased Amount of Child Porn Online. The motion claims that a “conservative estimate” of FBI activity in its infiltration and takedown of the notorious “Playpen”....
New York financial regulators are concerned about virtual currency influence in “Wild West”, investigating such virtual currencies as one of the most popular- Bitcoin. Superintendent of the state’s Department of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky, stated that they are contemplating new regulations for virtual currencies. Virtual currency is known for being an unregulated currency and Bitcoin was stated to be regulation- free in 2009. Virtual currency is base on mathematical schemes which fights against tampering and maintains its authentication. Just like money, virtual currency can be....
A recent story published by Bloomberg reports that Bitcoin usage by pedophiles is on the rise. While the use of a potentially anonymous digital currency by the scum of the online world has been long predicted, the Internet Watch Foundation was able to point to some specific statistics in their recent report on payment methods for child pornography online. Although e-gold and Liberty Reserve were somewhat popular options for online criminals in the past, it seems that Bitcoin is quickly becoming the currency of choice for pedophiles. Statistics from the Internet Watch Foundation. The....
A spokesman for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division told a Senate subcommittee hearing that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin are vulnerable to organized crime. “We have seen increasing use of such currencies by drug dealers, traffickers of child pornography, and perpetrators of large-scale fraud schemes,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman told Congress. The anonymity and untraceability of digital currencies makes them ripe for crime, making law enforcement investigations significantly harder. What’s more, the currencies have no controls in place to stop illegal....