$1 billion in crypto will be spent on the dark web this year; but under 1% of all bitcoin transactions - Report

Bitcoin • July 2, 2019, 5:03AM EDT
UPDATED: July 2, 2019, 11:07AM EDT
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Crypto transactions on the dark web are set to hit a record $1 billion by the end of 2019, Bloomberg writes. 

According to research by Chainalysis, crypto usage on the dark web has amounted to a new high of $515 million since the start of the year. Besides bitcoin, Monero is also widely used on the dark web primarily to purchase drugs, child pornography and stolen credit-card information. 

Nevertheless, illicit transactions constitute less than 1 per cent of all Bitcoin transactions. This has decreased from the 7 per cent seen in 2012, according to Chainalysis senior product manager of data Hannah Curtis.

The Financial Action Task Force recently released new guidelines to help counter the use of cryptocurrencies for money laundering and terrorism.

AUTHOR

Isabel Woodford profile picture Isabel Woodford

Isabel is The Block's London and European reporter. She previously reported for Reuters in Madrid and London, following on from her time as a freelance journalist for the Guardian and the New York Times. She has a Bachelors in War Studies from King’s College London and a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. Conflict of Interest: Edward Woodford, the CEO of SeedCX, is Isabel's brother. She does not report on any issues related to Seed or advise other authors in any regard.

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