Bitcoins Raise Money Laundering Concerns The bitcoin logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia) In recent weeks, the digital currency Bitcoin has drawn attention from policymakers and regulators, primarily due to concerns that the coins offer a new way for the commission of crimes like tax evasion and money laundering. The Senate Homeland Security Committee is exploring “how regulators and law enforcement officials plan to oversee Bitcoin,” POLITICO reported recently. However, a study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University asserts that “making the use of Bitcoin illegal would not undermine the network,” but merely prevent “law-abiding users” from “enjoying the many potential benefits of Bitcoin without seeing any drop in criminal use.” The report contends that “governmental interests in detecting and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing would be better advanced…by requiring intermediaries to keep records and report suspicious activities, just as traditional financial institutions do.” In the long run, the study warns that “prohibiting Bitcoin use” could place the U.S. “at an international competitive disadvantage in the development and use of what may be the next-generation payments system.”
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 15:56:40 +0000
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