2012-08-16 slashdot.org - Australian Watchdog Frets Over BitCoin, MMOs' Money La

[julz]

Australian Watchdog Frets Over BitCoin, MMOs' Money Laundering Potential

2012-08-16

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/08/16/1241233/australian-watchdog-frets-over-bitcoin-mmos-money-laundering-potential

...
"Australia's anti-money laundering watchdog AUSTRAC believes that money laundering using digital currencies such as Bitcoin and virtual worlds (such as MMOs) are possible 'emerging threats'. The organisation's latest 'typologies' report earmarked virtual worlds and Bitcoin as two areas that the agency would be monitoring, although at this stage no-one seems sure to what extent they are being used (and some of the issues with Bitcoin, such as the fluctuating exchange rate and limited options for transferring value to real-world currencies through conversion to non-digital currencies or using it to pay for goods or services, mean that it's unlikely it's being used for money laundering on a significant scale)."
...

[proudhon]

Australian Watchdog Frets Over BitCoin, MMOs' Money Laundering Potential

2012-08-16

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/08/16/1241233/australian-watchdog-frets-over-bitcoin-mmos-money-laundering-potential

...
"Australia's anti-money laundering watchdog AUSTRAC believes that money laundering using digital currencies such as Bitcoin and virtual worlds (such as MMOs) are possible 'emerging threats'. The organisation's latest 'typologies' report earmarked virtual worlds and Bitcoin as two areas that the agency would be monitoring, although at this stage no-one seems sure to what extent they are being used (and some of the issues with Bitcoin, such as the fluctuating exchange rate and limited options for transferring value to real-world currencies through conversion to non-digital currencies or using it to pay for goods or services, mean that it's unlikely it's being used for money laundering on a significant scale)."
...

Clearly, there's a market, you know, if so many government types are concerned about it.  So, what can we do to better target the money laundering market?

[julz]

Clearly, there's a market, you know, if so many government types are concerned about it.  So, what can we do to better target the money laundering market?

Well.. I guess anything that ratchets up the BTC price so as to give sufficient size to the bitcoin market to make laundering worthwhile amounts more practical.