Overview
OZY quoted Alan Cohn in an October 17 article titled “The Future of Crime in the Blockchain Economy.” The article explains why blockchain is now being touted as the most disruptive technology since the internet. At the heart of blockchain — and the cryptocurrencies built atop it — is an unchangeable chronological list of all transactions in the system. And so, in theory, law enforcement has more to go on when investigating money laundering or the purchase of illicit goods with cryptocurrencies than with, say, cash.
Mr. Cohn, counsel to the Blockchain Alliance – a public-private forum of blockchain businesses and law enforcement – says, “Criminals don’t need to use cryptocurrencies because they have cash and … the banking system.” The criminals behind Silk Road were eventually brought down by tracking payments on the public Bitcoin blockchain ledger — the analysis even rumbled two undercover federal agents who had gone rogue. So while “it’s certainly possible to launder money using cryptocurrency,” says Mr. Cohn, the handlers of cryptocurrencies face the same regulatory requirements as a traditional money services business.
The full article can be read at OZY.
