Europol says Bitcoin is one of many tools used by criminals
﻿The policing agency of the European Union, Europol, has released its annual Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), in which it claims that although the popularity of digital currencies has grown among cyber criminals, these criminals will use whatever means of payment most suits their uses, whether it is digital currency or not. This is an interestingly balanced view for Europol to have taken, as it does not seem as if the authority places increased levels of blame on digital currencies as a payment method over﻿ any other for their facilitation of criminal payments. Indeed, the agency said that "cybercriminals will continue to use whichever payment mechanism is convenient, familiar or perceived to be safe, including those that are already regulated and maintain anti-money laundering controls.” However, the report also revealed that Bitcoin currently accounts for approximately 40% of all identified criminal-to-criminal payments of the EU law enforcement investigations; the agency identified Ukash, Webmoney, and Western Union as other means of payment used by criminals.

You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. Loading application.

Please wait.