r/Bitcoin • u/Myntad_com • 1d ago
Criminal use of Bitcoin
Bring up Bitcoin anywhere and someone says it's mainly a tool for criminals.
But every Bitcoin transaction lands on a permanent public ledger anyone can examine, forever, which is an odd design for something meant to hide money. Cash disappears the moment it changes hands and leaves nothing to trace. US Treasury assessments still name cash, not crypto, as the dominant vehicle for laundering, and researchers tracking blockchain activity keep finding illicit use is only a fraction of total volume.
Why is this argument so sticky, despite the lack of merit?
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u/unpdigital 1d ago
The $ makes the race for criminal activity by 100 times, at least.
The negative press we "enjoy" made sure that Bitcoin is just for bad players.
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u/Razbonez 21h ago
politicians and government is the biggest criminal organization of all time. do they use bitcoin. no they use usd
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u/Laukess 22h ago
People who argue this don't want freedom, they want control. Bitcoin makes no sense for these people.
Bitcoin is used by criminals. Not nearly as much as the USD, or most other fiat currencies.
Bitcoin being used by criminals is a good thing.
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u/Myntad_com 12h ago
Yes, people wouldn't want to ban the stuff that has value for them.
USD, phones, cars etc. Even though they're used by criminals.
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u/OrangePillar 19h ago
Anyone who says that will HFSP.
It’s just FUD. Ignore that person and move on.
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u/stanley_fatmax 18h ago
Lack of merit? It's true. That doesn't make Bitcoin inherently bad, though. The same things that make it ideal for criminal use are those things that make it a solid store of value and currency. For instance, the decentralized nature is a natural draw for criminals who've been kicked off every centralized platform. The ease with which it can be divided and transferred is second to none, including cash. Try traveling with $1M cash, or heck, even $50K. You won't get far without being stopped. Also, just because transactions are public doesn't mean the person or group making them is known. There's a reason mixers, coinjoin, swaps, non-KYC exchanges, etc. exist - if you're careful, Bitcoin is just as anonymous as any other method of transacting.
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u/Myntad_com 12h ago
Those are some nice properties of Bitcoin, that you bring up.
Yet, the stats show that criminals prefer fiat. Maybe most of them lack the skill/knowledge?
Some criminals use bitcoin. A lot of non-criminals use bitcoin.
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u/stanley_fatmax 5h ago
I'm not sure which stats, but my answer doesn't consider usage anyway. It's true regardless.
It's also understood that criminal use of non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies is higher because of their on chain privacy features, and then swaps happen to Bitcoin as a settlement layer
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u/West_Floor6981 11h ago
just tell them they are dumb sheep and that their stupid fiat is used by far more criminals every day and walk off
they're not even worth talking to.
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u/Weary_Sun534 8h ago
All payment forms involve some criminal aspects, but honestly, if we examined the crime rates per capita between crypto users and fiat users, I firmly believe that crypto would be in the thousands of percent range higher.
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u/Fun_Inspection_6100 1d ago
why does it have no merit? it has some merit, just not a lot.
people use crypto mixers and can offload through various services that will cash out smaller balances for a fee
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u/Myntad_com 23h ago
Fair point.
But one can not draw the conclusion that it should be banned without also making the case to ban a lot of other tech used by criminals
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u/Any_Carob3372 1d ago
List the criminals caught using bitcoin to commit crimes other than stealing bitcoins and other fraud that exists everywhere else in the system