Decrease in the misuse of Bitcoin

For heads of state and conservative bankers, Bitcoin is a tool at the service of crime. Those who are informed, know that most Bitcoin transactions are made for legitimate purposes. It has always been difficult to prove it, but a new study supports this argument. Bitcoin reached a peak of crime in 2014, which has declined steadily ever since.

Bitcoin: more legitimate than you think

War and organized crime are two of the most undesirable elements of our societies. And yet, they both share a positive feature: they are generators of technology. Without military research, we would not have access to inventions like tin cans, microwaves, or radar. Encryption, Tor and of course Bitcoin, owe their use to the darker parts of the Web. A study shows that the illegal use of Bitcoin has been decreasing since 2014.

This statement is confirmed by a recent study from the University of Sydney. It found that one-third of the owners of digital currency used their Bitcoins for illegal activities. The author of the study claims that 34 to 36 million Bitcoin users have illegally sent or received bitcoins. However, not all uses of bitcoins on the Darknet are for illegal purposes.

What is illegal use?

Dr. Foley's study does not clearly define what constitutes illegal use. Is the purchase of a gram of cannabis with bitcoins as harmful as the purchase of a firearm or the acquisition of ransomware? These issues are beyond the scope of the Sydney University study.

Among millions of transactions, it is impossible to determine for what purpose a digital currency has been used. It is indeed possible to trace the movements of bitcoins, without the possibility to trace their end use. Dr. Foley, however, has studied the question in detail. By analyzing the flow of bitcoins through known illicit commerce networks, such as Silk Road and its successors.

Dr. Foley's research indicates that the illegal use of Bitcoin peaked in 2014 and has been declining since then. Legitimate use has steadily increased over the last five years and has exceeded illegal usage in 2016. When Bitcoin first appeared, one of the few places where it could be used was the Silk Road market where it was possible to get all types of goods with bitcoins.
Most early Bitcoin enthusiasts first heard about it thanks to Silk Road. This platform has put bitcoin forward in traditional media, but has also participated in its association with crime.
Six years later, DeepWeb's best-known market was shut down by the FBI, but Bitcoin is still in full swing.

The US administration "very attentive" to Bitcoin

Legitimate applications have outgrown illicit applications. But, cryptocurrency is still associated with crime. When asked about cryptocurrencies, Sarah Sanders, Press Secretary at the White House, said the only US department that was actively involved was the Department of Homeland Security.

However, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his ministry was investigating the illegal uses of Bitcoin. In an interview with Yahoo Finance (LE), Mnuchin said the situation should be examined "very carefully."

"So we want to make sure the Darknet is not funded with bitcoins. And that's something that concerns us today. Steven Mnuchin

Mnuchin's comments come shortly after the Treasury revealed a plan to review the cryptocurrency practices of the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
The review of FinCEN is included in the annual fiscal plan for fiscal year 2018, which was released in early November. Although the details do not appear in the report, this is an important advance.

If a third of Bitcoin users used it to engage in illegal activity, how many dollar users did the same? Given that 90% of US banknotes are soiled with cocaine, there is good reason to argue that Bitcoin is the cleanest currency.