http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-18/are-bitcoins-the-criminal-s-best-friend-.htmlThe U.S. government recently imposed money laundering controls on legitimate businesses that use bitcoins, and a recent study suggests that it’s pretty hard to use them to launder money on a mass scale, though the FBI has argued otherwise.
Bitcoin may have a bright future in the above-ground world, too. In letters to the Senate committee holding the hearing today, the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission said the virtual currency is a legitimate financial instrument, which like any other online-payment system, offers benefits and presents risks.
Speculators, meanwhile, are voting with their wallets. The currency has soared in value since the closing of the "Silk Road" marketplace drew wide attention to it.
And given the speed with which bitcoins entered illicit commerce, it looks likely that drug traffickers and other international criminals will ditch old-fashioned cash for digital currencies. This shouldn't come as a surprise. When it comes to moving ill-gotten gains, hitting a few keys on a laptop beats shipping bogus toaster stuffed with cash.
