US dollar used in money laundering 800 times more than Bitcoin?
- Several governments have recently been hostile towards the crypto industry.
- USD has been used more for criminal activities and is harder to trace, in comparison to Bitcoin.
Several governments across the globe have been hostile towards the crypto industry, mostly because crypto can be used for money laundering. Many lawmakers have proposed crypto bans multiple times on this account.
Messari conducted a research, which showed that US dollars have been used 800 times more than Bitcoin to launder money. This comes as a piece of disturbing news given the resistance displayed by several government officials towards cryptocurrencies. US President Donald Trump had said that Bitcoin has minimal value and unregulated cryptocurrency can be used for unlawful behavior like drug trade and others (including money laundering). Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury Secretary, also expressed his concern regarding the threat posed by cryptocurrencies just a few days after Trump's Bitcoin-related tweet.
Messari's research results are pointing towards a direction opposite to the stance taken by these politicians. Bitcoin transactions can be easily traced compared to any other currency, including the US dollar.
Notably, the crypto industry considers such criticisms as publicity for the currency. Some industry experts feel that the government might be more threatened regarding the potential of Bitcoin rather than the currency being used for money laundering as regulation hasn't been successful in taking the situation under control.
Author
Rajarshi Mitra
Independent Analyst
Rajarshi entered the blockchain space in 2016. He is a blockchain researcher who has worked for Blockgeeks and has done research work for several ICOs. He gets regularly invited to give talks on the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
