[2015-06-10]DMT - Don't Buy Drugs Online With Bitcoin

[jdebunt]

http://digitalmoneytimes.com/crypto-news/why-bitcoin-is-not-a-great-payment-method-for-online-drugs/

When federal agents brought down the Silk Road platform, many people in the Bitcoin space hoped that using this disruptive digital currency for drug trafficking would slowly come to an end. Unfortunately, it turns out that is not the case;  online drugs sales are still on the rise and pseudonymous and anonymous payment, such as Bitcoin, are still very popular in that market.

[sherbyspark]

The government knows that it will be impossible for  them to effectively control the drug trade happening with bitcoin. It would be pointless for them to use vast resources just to track down real owners of those websites and dark markets. What I believe they are trying to do is put fear in the public after taking strict action against the Silk road mastermind and people who were related to the website.

Something similar happened with Aaron Swartz a few months back.

[Pro_Crypto_Marty]

JP, I agree that Silk Road and any other illegal activity that goes on in the Deep Web are bad press for Bitcoin. But I wonder if, in the long run, that kind of press could win over many people if it gets Bitcoin associated with the growing movement for drug decriminalization. That the War on Drugs was a failure is generally well known nowadays, and even some governments are pushing for decriminalization of (softer) drugs. With that in mind and knowing that there's little that can be done to stop it, could Bitcoin's association with drugs really be a bad thing in the long run?

[bryant.coleman]

People don't want to risk their lives (and their money) by going to the ghettoes in search of low quality drugs. Silk Road was offering high quality drugs, which were reasonably priced. And as far as I know, with the exception of Ross Ullbrict, the FBI has failed to arrest any of the vendors or the buyers, who were active in the Silk Road.

[MUFC]

Bitcoin Is Less Suitable For Illegal Purchases

No, it might be less suitable to make purchases on the street where cash is still king, but for making purchases of illegal things online bitcoin is by far your best option and I don't necessarily see this as a negative thing, especially where drugs are concerned. Bitcoin is actually the perfect medium for this as Paypal would just shut your account down and it's not like a dealer is going to give you his bank account details or his address so you can mail cash or a cheque to him.