[2015-11-21] Bitcoin, Paris and Terrorism: What the Media Got Wrong

[ChrisPop]

"Due to their status as both an emerging payment method and payments technology, global authorities have long sought to ensure safeguards are in place to prevent digital currencies from being abused by cybercriminals and terrorists seeking to take advantage of their cash-like features.

This narrative was given new prominence this week following the terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, which left more than 100 people dead and that have found law enforcement agencies and politicians seeking to take aggressive measures to bolster security in their wake.

Of note is that global authorities including FinCEN, Europol, FATF, G7 and Interpol have long been concerned about the state of regulation on digital currencies due to what they consider to be the potential for the new technology to be leveraged by groups seeking to finance terrorists or by terrorists directly.

Such nuance was often lost in new reports that highlighted how digital currencies were once again part of the conversation in the wake of the Paris attacks, as the European Council of the European Union and G7 convened for meetings aimed at assessing potential areas of concern in the global financial system.

Complicating reports by global media outlets was confusion related to past research into whether Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or Daesh, has been confirmed to have actually used digital currency to fund its operations.

This arguably confusing state of reporting was even highlighted by FinCEN director Jennifer Shasky Calvery in a speech where she stated directly that her agency does not believe digital currencies to represent a "higher risk" when compared to more established payment methods."

http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-paris-and-terrorism-what-the-media-got-wrong/