50% of Bitcoin Transactions Are For Illegal Activity According to US Fed
Fed believe BTC is for illegal purposes.
According to the US Fed, they believe 50% of Bitcoin (BTC) transactions are used for illegal activities. The United States Federal Reserve board appears to be under the impression that one in four users of Bitcoin worldwide are criminals.
A member of the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB), Lael Brainard spoke in a panel speech honoring Benoît Coeuré. There he also discussed the risks he perceives are still posed by cryptocurrencies.
Security of crypto exchanges is troubling
According to Brainard, Bitcoin still contains a significant malicious user base. Citing this statement from an academic study released earlier this year.
She continued: “Only a third of the most popular exchanges require ID verification and proof of address to make a deposit or withdrawal. This is troubling, since a number of studies conclude that cryptocurrencies support a significant amount of illicit activity,”.
Brainard then added that up to 50% of all Bitcoin transactions were likely in some way conducted in a manner that breaks the law:
“One study estimated that more than a quarter of bitcoin users and roughly half of bitcoin transactions, for example, are associated with illegal activity.”
How to find out who makes BTC transactions?
The tone of this speech added to the vast misconceptions over Bitcoin’s real-world use cases. Studies that have been conducted on transactions regularly produce opposing conclusions. On top of this, a lack of complete anonymity with Bitcoin means genuine criminals still prefer physical cash.
Additional difficulties lie in finding the exact number of people who actually use Bitcoin. As a user can technically control an infinite number of BTC addresses.
Coeuré has remained extremely critical of Bitcoin in particular. Previously describing BTC as the “evil spawn of the financial crisis.” Giving this speech ahead of a wave of new cryptocurrency regulations coming into force soon within the European Union.
