EU Report Implies Criminals are Too Stupid to Use Bitcoin

Are criminals too stupid to use bitcoin? That is what a July 4 European Union report suggested. This will not strike many people as obvious, though. One of the most common concerns touted by governments about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is criminals will use them to fund their activities.

The EU’s commission Staff document detailed, “While they (criminals) may have a high intent to use due to VCs characteristics (anonymity in particular), the level of capability is lower due to high technology required.” This low level of capability implies criminals lack understanding of cryptocurrencies and have little technological acumen.

After the report mentioned the low incidence of criminal use, it added terrorists may try to use “virtual currencies” like bitcoin to finance some operations. The report said the level of anonymity of virtual currencies provides a modicum of risk, because it plays into the hands of terror cells and other nefarious organizations. In other words, people with violent intentions can use these currencies in a secretive way to fund bombing campaigns or other violent activities. It currently seems unlikely, however, considering the technology is still developing/emerging, the report stated.

“It is nevertheless important to mention that being currently a developing technology requiring IT skills and expertise, virtual currencies are not necessarily easy to use and the number of transactions is still quite low.”