In the minds of the majority of ordinary people Bitcoin is strongly associated with the half-legal currency for the drug trade and financing terrorism. But why did it happen? Probably, this is because the retorted understanding of the ways of cryptocurrency functioning and goals which it is used for. Let’s try to investigate this.
The majority has heard about Bitcoin in the negative light after the crash of MT Gox in 2015 – the crypto-currency exchange platform. As of August 2013, 47% of all transactions between Bitcoin and national currencies were carried out through Mt Gox, so the liquidation of the platform was painful for both crypto-currency rate and its reputation. However, such things happen with traditional currencies as well. During the last financial crisis, Lehman Brothers have bankrupted, but no one started to affirm that dollar is a speculation.
In addition, one more scandalous project sufficiently tarnished the reputation of Bitcoin. Silk Road – the anonymous online store, which existed in the domain base onion of the anonymous network Tor, 70% of its range consisted of the various narcotic drugs. The payment for the purchase was carried out in Bitcoins exactly. Annually, transactions on the sum around 15 million dollars were conducted through this site, until the FBI stopped its work in 2013. However, this is hardly anything if compared to the sums for the drug trade in the national currencies, so it is actually not a strong argument to accuse crypto-currency in drug indulgence.
Now, what concerns the accusation in the financing terrorism with digital money. In the report, published by Europol, there were no evidences that ISIS is connected with Bitcoin. And if one wants to find fault with someone, then the main financial causer of the Paris terrorist attacks were MasterCard credit cards. Terrorists also use many other, more regulated payment systems, but journalists constantly accuse crypto-currencies in the connections with Islamic fanatics, apparently, to increase their website traffic.
The easiest way to evaluate the level of Bitcoin danger is to draw the analogy with the Internet. Are all the things happening in the world network, legal or morally acceptable? No. But anyway the global network is used and even promoted on the state level.So one should at least objectively analyze digital currency and find advantages in its positive sides, since Bitcoin is developing and won’t disappear at once.
