While the establishment would like the world to believe that only criminal masterminds and people with something to hide would prefer the decentralized freedom of Bitcoin (as opposed to the 'under government watch' banking system that floats Washington's boat), the truth is that the biggest cryptocurrency is considerably less 'anonymous' than is commonly exclaimed.
In fact, as more and more criminals become aware of the real privacy concerns of Bitcoin, they are increasingly turning to other - more private - coins.
As Bloomberg reports, privacy coins such as monero, designed to avoid tracking, have climbed faster over the past two months as law enforcers adopt software tools to monitor people using bitcoin. A slew of analytic firms such as Chainalysis are getting better at flagging digital hoards linked to crime or money laundering, alerting exchanges and preventing conversion into traditional cash.
The European Union’s law-enforcement agency, Europol, raised alarms three months ago, writing in a report that “other cryptocurrencies such as monero, ethereum and Zcash are gaining popularity within the digital underground.” Online extortionists, who use ransomware to lock victims’ computers until they fork over a payment, have begun demanding those currencies instead. On Dec. 18 hackers attacked up to 190,000 WordPress sites per hour to get them to produce monero, according to security company Wordfence.
For ransomware attacks, monero is now “one of the favorites, if not the favorite,” Matt Suiche, founder of Dubai-based security firm Comae Technologies, said in a phone interview.
Monero quadrupled in value to $349 in the final two months of 2017, according to coinmarketcap.com, placing it among a number of upstart coins that rose faster than bitcoin, the world’s most valuable digital currency. Bitcoin roughly doubled in the same period, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Monero’s price has climbed another 7 percent so far this year, according to coinmarketcap.com.
In monero’s case, Bloomberg explains, criminals are snapping it up because bitcoin’s underlying technology can work against them. Called blockchain, the digital ledger meticulously records which addresses send and receive transactions, including the exact time and amount -- great data to use as evidence. Match an address to a crime and then watch the bitcoin universe carefully, and you can see the funds disappear and reappear in other locations.
Sleuths have developed databases and techniques for digesting that information to eventually nab wrongdoers. Say, for example, a coffee shop in Berkeley is known to have a certain bitcoin address, and a wallet used by an extortionist transfers the same amount there every morning at 9 a.m. Police can stop by and make an arrest.
Started in 2014, monero is very different. It encrypts the recipient’s address on its blockchain and generates fake addresses to obscure the real sender. It also obscures the amount of the transaction.
The techniques are so potent that software that flags coins suspected of being obtained through crime now tags just about anything converted into or out of monero as high risk, according to Pawel Kuskowski, chief executive officer of Coinfirm, which helps exchanges and other companies avoid tainted money. That compares with only about 10 percent of bitcoin, he said.
“What we treat ‘high risk’ is something that’s anonymizing funds,” he said in a phone interview. “How are you going to prove that these funds are not coming from illegal sources?”
Developers behind monero say they simply created a coin that protects privacy. Most people use it legitimately -- they just don’t want others to know whether they’re buying a coffee or a car, Riccardo Spagni, core developer at monero, said in a phone interview.
“As a community, we certainly don’t advocate for monero’s use by criminals,” Spagni said.
“At the same time if you have a decentralized currency, it’s not like you can prevent someone from using it. I imagine that monero provides massive advantages for criminals over bitcoin, so they would use monero.”
Comments
Real criminals never used it in the first place lol....
Real Criminals? Like bankers?
In reply to Real criminals never used it… by FreeShitter
Monero is probably the only coin that is actually used for trade, everything else is retard speculation. I love cardano but 25bln marketcap ha
In reply to Real criminals never used it… by FreeShitter
Bitcoin is a bunch of children trading garbage pale kid cards without the cards. Anyone with $100.00 can move the price of BTC upwards. It was touted as being 'limited' to what? 21 million coins? EXCEPT that in reality it is broken down by the penny and therefore is NOT limited whatsoever. LIE #1. Second, it was touted as being "anonymous", but that is a fabrication, with the PUBLIC LEDGER every transaction of every partial coin can be traced back to its mining. LIE #2
Those two things, plus the fact that again, you are 'trading' garbage pale kids cards, without the actual cards should be enough to bring it to ZERO.
In reply to Real criminals never used it… by FreeShitter
Ok you grandpa's want I should run to the store and get yous some Polident?
Let me Chlorox those dentures that fell in the turlet before you put them back ........grandpa! grandpa!!!! Nooo.
He always just puts them back in.
In reply to Bitcoin is a bunch of… by bill1102inf
Hey Moe, You are one of my childhood favorites.
Perhaps you should upgrade your image to fit your real persona.
In reply to Ok you grandpa's want I… by Moe-Monay
Missed the boat huh?
PS "Anyone with $100.00 can move the price of BTC upwards" Now THAT's the dumbest thing I read all day!
In reply to Bitcoin is a bunch of… by bill1102inf
How is that the dumbest thing you have read? You can buy any amount of Bitcoin at any price. Buying $1 worth of Bitcoin at market price supports it at the price per coin of $17k. Do you not understand that if you actually had to fork out $20k for a whole coin that no one would be able to afford it?
In reply to Missed the boat huh? by USA USA
You don’t have $500 to play with?
In reply to Bitcoin is a bunch of… by bill1102inf
George Carlin (once said to the Zero-Coinzers)
BITCOIN is a big F'ing Club... and you ain't in IT !!!
In reply to Bitcoin is a bunch of… by bill1102inf
Real Criminals use $US on pallets by plane to Iran like Obummer.
In reply to Real criminals never used it… by FreeShitter
LoL for sure. If I'm not mistaken, the definition of being a criminal is actually being convicted of something. Otherwise you're just exercising your rights under the rule of law to break any law that you wish provided that you're willing to pay the potential consequences for getting caught. Somehow I suspect that real potential criminals know what their doing- whether they used crypto or not. In contrast, the average crypto HODLer, who thinks they're going to be secure and able to avoid the tax man, definitely is likely to become a criminal.
In reply to Real criminals never used it… by FreeShitter
Real criminals use Fedcoin.
They get them for free from QE releases by the Fed itself.
They then turn around, and loan it out to businesses and people, and even to the Gov.us
Their profits are protected by all sorts of tax dodges, that only select specialists (accountants and lawyers) can handle.
In reply to Real criminals never used it… by FreeShitter
..free from QE releases? What are you smokin?
QE is the FED purchase of bonds, mostly treasuries, from member banks. It's just the turning of an already purchased asset back into cash. There is No Free involved.
In reply to Real criminals use Fedcoin… by HRClinton
The CIA/NSA and other alphabet gooberment agencies have too used cryptos to give the illusion only bad people use cryptos.
In reply to Real criminals never used it… by FreeShitter
Real criminals use Western Union, MoneyGram and shit loads of stored value gift cards to launder their ill-gotten gains.
In reply to Real criminals never used it… by FreeShitter
No, theyre leaving BTC for XRB. XRB will take over BTC. Zero transaction times and zero fees. DYOR ;)
Back to suitcases of diamonds, bricks of Gold, and Deeds to Real Estate 'ere long.
In reply to No, theyre leaving BTC for… by Ricecakes83
nice advert.. for a coin that has a trail of dead web site links..
In reply to No, theyre leaving BTC for… by Ricecakes83
XRB works, and works instantly and for FREE (competitive advantage).
try these links: https://raiblocks.net
https://www.reddit.com/r/RaiTrade/?st=JC3ZUUWN&sh=1ecf8fde
In reply to No, theyre leaving BTC for… by Ricecakes83
Bitcoin got ruined as soon as stupid Rothschilds invested in it... They always mess up a good thing.... Greedy bas-turds!
The establishment have already established that they are full of shit.
Seems they've pegged the wrong folk as criminals. Let's start with Central Banks, The TBTF banks, The MIC, National "Law Enforcement" agency leadership, and most of Congress. Now. Straightened that out for youse.
Now the truth comes out as the demonization attempt FAILED...
BITCOIN WAS NEVER USED BY CRIMINALS SINCE IT IS A PUBLIC LEDGER
Engage Cloak bitchez
Which criminals are we talking about?...
The drug dealers that launder on behalf of HSBC with their crypto wallets?...
Or...
The Jamie Dimon(s) and Lloyd Blankfein(s) who say it's a racket that keep telling you DON'T BUY IT knowing of course that you will do the opposite thanks to their controlled opposition (on the payroll) urging you on as "Anonymous" aka Jim Rogers, Max Kesier and Reggie Middleton as it goes from "$1,000" to $20,000 in less than 5 months, that collectively have probably better then 70% of the actual wealth across all of the crypto spaces?...
I'll say it again...
Won't be a real gig until you put that store of value into it that only Russia, China and Iran can give it! Unless or until the engineering task force with core mining servers are run out of those 3 places -it's a Black Swan full of buckshot!!!
P.S.
Had we done the opposite of everything we've done since this (http://www.ae911truth.org/) that bankrupted U.S. with NO RETURN... I would NO DOUBT be the proud owner of many BTC, Ethereum and Lite Coin wallets run out of CONUS!
LoL.. They are leaving China for Winnipeg (land of fiber into the countryside and low energy cost (for now).. In Russia, they can't buy anything in the country or exchange for Rubles with the crypto they have mined..
In reply to Which criminals are we… by Son of Captain Nemo
low energy cost???...
Lower than this
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-03/new-pipeline-doubles-russian-…
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-03/russia-boosts-2017-crude-oil-…
Guess we'll never know for certain now whether that operation was outside of Taipei and Hong Kong or not?... But what difference does it make when Chairman Satoshi the "biggest holder of of his gig" doesn't have a address? And no one can tell us after 5 years where the operation(s) were being run "in China" for something as significant as a medium of exchange and a store of value?
Go back to your crack pipe!
In reply to LoL.. They are leaving… by Hope Copy
Hold on to yer dentures ol'fella... BIG CRYPTO RALLY STARTS SUNDAY !!!
In reply to Which criminals are we… by Son of Captain Nemo
"BIG CRYPTO RALLY STARTS SUNDAY !!!"
Thanks of course to the Algos running the futures just like VIX and the rest of the "smoke and mirrors" exchanges that ONLY go up since 2009!...
Fixed it!
In reply to Hold on to yer dentures ol… by Yellow_Snow
There's there's too much competition now in the cryptocurrency space. Bitcoin will continue to slowly decline as people take their gains and put them in something else. I sold some my Bitcoin and bought HEMP stock.
Just don't tell Sessions. He'll suspend all of his ongoing investigations into the Clinton foundation, Uranium One, and Wall Street fraud to go after you.
In reply to There's there's too much… by lester1
Im long as fuck on aurora and canopy. Been in those for 7 months now, redic returns. Wait till canadian weed gets legalized this summer.....going to the moon.
In reply to There's there's too much… by lester1
Why Aurora?
In reply to Im long as fuck on aurora… by FreeShitter
Yeah Aurora is the biggest, I know the main financier, but I barely trade stocks anymore.
Privacy coins might do well this year, just not McAffee pump and dumps.
In reply to Im long as fuck on aurora… by FreeShitter
I keep "rebalancing" my CC portfolio, that started out with HODLed BTC and mined LTC.
When I transfer BTC out of CCs entirely, I opt for other "libertarian assets" that are decentralized, untrackable and unhackable:
AU, Gems, offshore RE.
Last month I bought a very nice condo in Switzerland. I won't say how I paid for it, but you can use your libertarian imagination. :-)
My attitude is: Once my fiats leave the fiat (((Plantation))) and become "Free Assets", they don't look back or go back. No "profit taking". Profit taking in the fiat sense is for Debt Niggers (of all races). Being Free Assets, means staying Free... 4ver!
Free Assets in the Free/Parallel Economy, BiTChez!
In reply to There's there's too much… by lester1
So dumbasses like me missed the first boats sailing with BTC and are still looking for a way to convert some government funny money into decentralized currency and ride it up awhile before deploying it into other assets as you have, what would you suggest to a fellow traveler?
In reply to I keep "rebalancing" my CC… by HRClinton
Here's a question -- did they catch those "hackers" who demanded bitcoin as ransom a few months back? Obviously they could. One truly anonymous dollar bill says the supposed hacking is all part of the narrative to justify shutting down cryptos to keep the children safe from criminals and terr'ists.
as long as it for the children, and incubator babies
In reply to Here's a question -- did… by LetThemEatRand
Actually it is that security is ramping up with the Intel bugs being worked on. Making a safe proxy in an unknowing manner is getting harder. Exchanging for real value good next to impossible and playing the market like Soros at the absurd height that it is at and getting the right move improbable.
AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!
Seashells, paper, whatever are all based on humans agreeing on a method of trading.
Problems arise when a small group can manipulate the agreed upon exchange method.
It's not that hard to understand.
While we are at it let's outlaw cell phones, all coins and bills (fiat currency), checks, money orders, Zip-loc bags, paintings, precious metals, nail clippers, etc. etc. etc. Anything that might be used by a criminal. There, that's solves everything! /s
The criminals own the bank, I'm pretty sure they got a handle on the digital currency too, if not, they will soon..
Monero is fucking legit. It's one of the very few legitimate cryptocurrencies out there, and IMO it's the only one that can actually be called a cryptocurrency.
It is 100% untraceable. When AlphaBay got shut down by the Feds, they were unable to determine how much Monero was present in their operations. The feds seized "an unknown amount of Monero", while they were able to account for the exact amounts of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and ZCash that were used.
Unless you trade P2P, there's no privacy in business!
Cryptos without privacy is not bad...
Cryptos with decentralization is good. Cryptos with centralization (gov/private) is BAD!
XMR is moving tonight!
Criminals use USD
Monero is THE favourite. It actually works.