You cannot identify all of those kinds of transactions on Bitcoin due to its nature. If you are able to, then there is no privacy with Bitcoin. I'll take any studies like these with a pinch of salt. It relies on linking those organisations which are known or cracked down with their transactions being associated. This means that you won't be to identify transactions which are hidden well or unlinked. Bitcoin is still mostly the method used with ransomware or other smaller crimes.
Given that the price of Bitcoin has been rising steadily, I won't be surprised if it gets more viable for large scale money laundering in the far future.
Topic: Ex-CIA Director Proved Bitcoin Use in Illicit or Crime to be disprove - page 2. (Read 302 times)
April 14, 2021, 11:22:01 PM
April 14, 2021, 07:59:59 PM
This actually does not need much spelling out to people. Only the Bitcoin haters are giving dignity to this accusation.
When Bitcoin started it was probably something only appreciated by the nerdy and the geeky; it doesn't have a price yet, after all. And while its use soon grew underground, how much percentage of underground transactions was done through Bitcoin? I bet it was less than 1%. So this accusation is garbage right from the start.
If they wanted to curb illegal transactions objectively, without prejudice against this rising independent currency, they should have stuck their noses into fiat.
When Bitcoin started it was probably something only appreciated by the nerdy and the geeky; it doesn't have a price yet, after all. And while its use soon grew underground, how much percentage of underground transactions was done through Bitcoin? I bet it was less than 1%. So this accusation is garbage right from the start.
If they wanted to curb illegal transactions objectively, without prejudice against this rising independent currency, they should have stuck their noses into fiat.
April 14, 2021, 07:46:35 PM
@buwaytress. Also, the former CIA director is working with the new council Coinbase has formed with Fidelity and Square. What other works might the former CIA director be doing to protect the agenda of the members of this council? I might be watching too much conspiracy movies again hehehe.
April 14, 2021, 10:09:40 AM
Not to be a downer or anything -- I'm as cautious with the good as I am with the bad, when it comes to experts from that part of the political agenda.
Also, don't think he actually proved anything, just found a lot of evidence that contradicts past conclusions/findings from people on his side of the fence.
And hasn't it been old news since at least Silk Road and including data from Chainalysis (which CIA or FBI uses, can't recall) as early as 2016 that Bitcoin's use in illicit activities is just really, really low, and keeps getting lower? Edit: the very same "less than 1%" data from Chainalysis is referenced in this report.
Still pretty interesting though!
Also, don't think he actually proved anything, just found a lot of evidence that contradicts past conclusions/findings from people on his side of the fence.
And hasn't it been old news since at least Silk Road and including data from Chainalysis (which CIA or FBI uses, can't recall) as early as 2016 that Bitcoin's use in illicit activities is just really, really low, and keeps getting lower? Edit: the very same "less than 1%" data from Chainalysis is referenced in this report.
Still pretty interesting though!
April 14, 2021, 08:10:26 AM
I guess the weight of this research is given by the fact that it comes from a man who was in high positions in that agency, and everyone knows how powerful that agency is, and that it has access to all possible data. However, it should be emphasized that his career in the agency was at its peak from 2010 to 2013, and that after that he devoted himself to some other jobs. Interestingly, it was he who was in the role of daily intelligence briefer at the time of the 2001 attacks and that he was among the first to blame Al-Qaeda for the attacks.
As for his research, it is quite logical that anyone who wants to look at things objectively will come to the same conclusion - unless from the beginning he has the goal of constructing lies and presenting them that way. Today's criminals prefer cash because it's the most effective way to cover their tracks, and I think most are still technically quite incapable of using Bitcoin at all.
As for his research, it is quite logical that anyone who wants to look at things objectively will come to the same conclusion - unless from the beginning he has the goal of constructing lies and presenting them that way. Today's criminals prefer cash because it's the most effective way to cover their tracks, and I think most are still technically quite incapable of using Bitcoin at all.
April 14, 2021, 06:25:21 AM
Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Acting Director Michael Morell wrote a report titled “An Analysis of Bitcoin’s Use in Illicit Finance”. The ex-government employee had over 33 years working at the Agency.
Published by the Crypto Council for Innovation, Morell’s investigation attempts to disprove a thesis defended by many authorities around the world: Bitcoin is a tool to finance cybercrime and other illicit activities.
Morell considers Bitcoin to have a growing momentum and a spreading use as a store of value. Endorsed by companies like Tesla and MicroStrategy, cryptocurrency is riding a major wave of adoption.
To achieve his goal, Morell consulted many experts in financial services, payment systems, global intelligence, even former senior government officials. The Ex-CIA director himself used to believe Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are a convenient way of sending money anonymously.
However, the research made him changed his mind. He was able to reach important conclusions: Bitcoin’s use as an illicit finance tool is “significantly overstated” which fiat currency is used for Illicit or Crime than cryptocurrency
Ok, that's intersting and all but can you please stick to the press guidelines before posting? Can you edit your thread title to include both the date and the source like everyone else does? Thanks Published by the Crypto Council for Innovation, Morell’s investigation attempts to disprove a thesis defended by many authorities around the world: Bitcoin is a tool to finance cybercrime and other illicit activities.
Morell considers Bitcoin to have a growing momentum and a spreading use as a store of value. Endorsed by companies like Tesla and MicroStrategy, cryptocurrency is riding a major wave of adoption.
To achieve his goal, Morell consulted many experts in financial services, payment systems, global intelligence, even former senior government officials. The Ex-CIA director himself used to believe Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are a convenient way of sending money anonymously.
However, the research made him changed his mind. He was able to reach important conclusions: Bitcoin’s use as an illicit finance tool is “significantly overstated” which fiat currency is used for Illicit or Crime than cryptocurrency
On the report per sé, I don't know if that's good or bad, certainly shows how the naysayers bluff when they say bitcoin is used by criminals.
April 13, 2021, 08:31:35 PM
The storyline Forbes created for this report is on Janet Yellen and her campaign against bitcoin and the cryptospace. The report might have exposed what I have said before that she does not care about the truth or the lies on bitcoin. She only wants support and a big budget for her campaign hehehehe.
In any case, the skeptical me is asking what the crypto council for innovation is doing with a former CIA director and what might be the other things he is doing for the council.
Bitcoin just received a strong vote of confidence from an unlikely source, a former acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In so doing, he put senior government officials who issue public warnings about bitcoin’s alleged use by criminals, such as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, on notice.
Source https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/04/13/janet-yellen-bitcoin-and-crypto-fearmongers-get-pushback-from-former-cia-director/
In any case, the skeptical me is asking what the crypto council for innovation is doing with a former CIA director and what might be the other things he is doing for the council.
Bitcoin just received a strong vote of confidence from an unlikely source, a former acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In so doing, he put senior government officials who issue public warnings about bitcoin’s alleged use by criminals, such as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, on notice.
Source https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/04/13/janet-yellen-bitcoin-and-crypto-fearmongers-get-pushback-from-former-cia-director/
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April 13, 2021, 05:29:35 PM
Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Acting Director Michael Morell wrote a report titled “An Analysis of Bitcoin’s Use in Illicit Finance”. The ex-government employee had over 33 years working at the Agency.
Published by the Crypto Council for Innovation, Morell’s investigation attempts to disprove a thesis defended by many authorities around the world: Bitcoin is a tool to finance cybercrime and other illicit activities.
Morell considers Bitcoin to have a growing momentum and a spreading use as a store of value. Endorsed by companies like Tesla and MicroStrategy, cryptocurrency is riding a major wave of adoption.
To achieve his goal, Morell consulted many experts in financial services, payment systems, global intelligence, even former senior government officials. The Ex-CIA director himself used to believe Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are a convenient way of sending money anonymously.
However, the research made him changed his mind. He was able to reach important conclusions: Bitcoin’s use as an illicit finance tool is “significantly overstated” which fiat currency is used for Illicit or Crime than cryptocurrency
Published by the Crypto Council for Innovation, Morell’s investigation attempts to disprove a thesis defended by many authorities around the world: Bitcoin is a tool to finance cybercrime and other illicit activities.
Morell considers Bitcoin to have a growing momentum and a spreading use as a store of value. Endorsed by companies like Tesla and MicroStrategy, cryptocurrency is riding a major wave of adoption.
To achieve his goal, Morell consulted many experts in financial services, payment systems, global intelligence, even former senior government officials. The Ex-CIA director himself used to believe Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are a convenient way of sending money anonymously.
However, the research made him changed his mind. He was able to reach important conclusions: Bitcoin’s use as an illicit finance tool is “significantly overstated” which fiat currency is used for Illicit or Crime than cryptocurrency
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