LocalBitcoins Warns Tor Users May Be At Risk

Tor, The Onion Router, is one of the most widely used anonymous browsers on the Internet, and is one of the main gateway to dark net / deepweb. However, apparently not everyone thinks the browser is safe.

Finland's peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange, LocalBitcoins, has warned users of its platform about the alleged security risks associated with the anonymous browser Tor Browser.

The statement was redone and again gained strength after a cryptocommerce expert spoke about the company's warning. The comment was made by transactional compliance expert Richard Bensberg earlier this week.

He tweeted a screenshot of a LocalBitcoins banner warning Tor users about the risk of losing their Bitcoins (BTC). The company banner read:

“Notice to all Tor users: The Tor browser exposes you to the risk of your bitcoins being stolen.”

LocalBitcoins responded to Bensberg, saying that while using TOR Browser is not against its terms of service, it does not recommend it for security reasons. LocalBitcoins did not specify why the browser makes users more vulnerable to theft.

Bensberg criticized the exchange's decision, arguing that Localbitcoins "really lost track."

The explanation for this warning may relate to the recent discovery of some Tor browser-based privacy issues, but which were immediately updated last week.

In July, a group of hackers broke into the Russian secret service and found that they were hacking the Tor browser, and working on other projects.

The confusion assumes that LocalBitcoins does not explain why it warns its users about Tor dangers.

At the same time, Tor is one of the favorite tools of cryptocurrency users, as the browser shares many liberal principles of cryptocurrency. This makes it appear that exchange does not share the principles of anonymity that the browser takes for all its users.