The Chief Scientist of Canada’s second most populous province says concerns that Bitcoin is being used for illicit activities like money laundering and tax evasion are largely overblown, according to a new post on the agency’s website.
“Bitcoin is not above the law, nor is it a magnet for illicit transactions: it forms only a tiny part of the criminal money circulating around the planet,” explains the note, which was prepared by Agence Science-Presse and Fonds de Recherche du Québec - a government research fund - and posted to website of Quebec's Chief Scientist Rémi Quirion.
The rationale underlying the conclusion was two-fold: Bitcoin’s lack of fully anonymous transactability and the existence of other cryptocurrencies like Zcash and Monero that offer greater privacy to users.
“The reason: [Bitcoin] is less attractive for anyone who wants to make transactions without leaving a trace,” explains the note, which is entitled “Bitcoin Above the Law? False” and is part of the agency’s Rumor Detector series.
Since it emerged on the public radar a half-decade ago, Bitcoin has been criticized ad nauseum for being a supposed vehicle for criminal activity. Most recently, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, published an article calling for the “dark side” of Bitcoin to be addressed through regulation.
The article acknowledges that bitcoin has been blamed for a multiplicity of evils, but goes on to dispute that conclusion:
“Certainly, there are many things that Bitcoin can be blamed for - anonymity, risky investing - but the facts do not support the theory of crime.”
Indeed, the transparent and public nature of the Bitcoin blockchain, where copies of transactions are recorded and distributed across the global network, makes it less than ideal for shady anonymous activity.
"The anonymity of Bitcoin is a myth. [It is just as] transparent as money, because you have to go through a platform where you have to give personal information,” the report states. “At the limit, if the name is not his, we always know the address of the transmitter and that of the receiver.”
Read more:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/astanley/2018/04/18/quebec-chief-scientist-bitcoin-not-a-magnet-for-illicit-transactions/2/#38138d712277
