BTC worth $1M confiscated in Canada ruling

[3x2]

As per the News article it says that the user was involved in buying/selling illegal items such as drugs and weapons over dark web. Total amount seized is around 281.14 BTC.
I wonder why these guys use bitcoins when they can easily escape with use of XMR aka Monero.

[Snaic]

I see nothing unusual in this matter. The guy bought weapons and drugs. On arms set his place of residence, and during the search found the drugs, which he ordered via the Internet for bitcoins. In his computer was all the data on the purchase of drugs and the data of his 281 bitcoins. Of course, since drugs were bought for bitcoins, they are subject to confiscation. This has nothing to do with the fact that government agencies monitor our cryptocurrency transactions.

[Virtual miner]

https://micky.com.au/bitcoin-worth-1-million-confiscated-in-canada-over-landmark-ruling/

Bitcoin worth over $1 million has been confiscated by a judge in Canada's Supreme Court. The ruling came after the judge brought CEO of CipherTrace that performs tracing operations on crypto to notice illegal activities where it was indeed found the case was dealing on the dark web with BTC.

 “(The case) forced agencies to start thinking about cryptocurrency investigations as a reality more than a possibility.”

thoughts?

This is actually good if we see it in a positive manner. If governments are confident that investigations can be performed upon cryptocurrency cases and the person involved in scam can be proved guilty then governments might even think of making BTC legal in their respective countries. Because Anonymity is a big reason why most of the governments are against this.

However, if we see from one end then this means that BTC was never that anonymous and anyone can be traced out using different types of blockchain explorers and data. Moreover with advent of KYC even people can be identified linked with different addresses.

[Netnox]

Forget about deflationary aspects of bitcoin through block reward halving..

Confiscation (if it isn't onsold by authorities) and people dying without a way to share their private keys will probably have the greatest deflationary impact on bitcoin and crypto more broadly.

Almost always, the confiscated coins are auctioned off by the authorities. So you can't count it among the possible reasons for getting a deflationary impact. Regarding the second part, I guess most of the big holders will be having some mechanism to pass on the private keys, in case something happens to them. Exceptions would be rare. 

[jerrison]

i have seen loads of cases where bitcoin transactions are been used not just in the Dark Web. The truth be told, most people do worst things with even with fiat currencies, why should they consider bitcoin transaction as the reason for a law suite and then getting to confiscate that huge amount of usd equivalent in bitcoin, it doesn't just add up.

[CryptoBry]

https://micky.com.au/bitcoin-worth-1-million-confiscated-in-canada-over-landmark-ruling/

Bitcoin worth over $1 million has been confiscated by a judge in Canada's Supreme Court. The ruling came after the judge brought CEO of CipherTrace that performs tracing operations on crypto to notice illegal activities where it was indeed found the case was dealing on the dark web with BTC.

 “(The case) forced agencies to start thinking about cryptocurrency investigations as a reality more than a possibility.”

thoughts?

This is actually good if we see it in a positive manner. If governments are confident that investigations can be performed upon cryptocurrency cases and the person involved in scam can be proved guilty then governments might even think of making BTC legal in their respective countries. Because Anonymity is a big reason why most of the governments are against this.

However, if we see from one end then this means that BTC was never that anonymous and anyone can be traced out using different types of blockchain explorers and data. Moreover with advent of KYC even people can be identified linked with different addresses.

Time and time again, it is already proven that anonymity is getting to be a myth as far as Bitcoin is concerned. A deep investigation can uncover details which can implicate a person doing illegal transactions on the dark web or anywhere. In this case, the reason why Bitcoin was confiscated because of the owner's illegal activities. However, if the guy used the US Dollar then the same fate can happen. Indeed, this can be a big lesson to anyone never to assume that just because Bitcoin is used then he can get away from the reach of the laws of the land.

[ene1980]

It sounds like they have some sort of tracking software which I think is great for companies and individuals. We wouldn't want another Quadriga case to break out again. I worry if it did it will leave a lot of people bitter about crypto and we lose out on mass adoption

If you are doing illegal activity with bitcoin you will get caught and that is what happened here, bitcoin is not meant to be anonymous and you can track every transactions and you really do not need some sort of tracking software to track those, a simple chain analysis reveals everything.

i have seen loads of cases where bitcoin transactions are been used not just in the Dark Web. The truth be told, most people do worst things with even with fiat currencies, why should they consider bitcoin transaction as the reason for a law suite and then getting to confiscate that huge amount of usd equivalent in bitcoin, it doesn't just add up.

If he was using fiat currencies for those purchases he wont end up in this situation, it has nothing against bitcoin and this case will highlight how transparent bitcoin transaction are and no one can use it for illegal activities.

[Kemarit]

https://micky.com.au/bitcoin-worth-1-million-confiscated-in-canada-over-landmark-ruling/

Bitcoin worth over $1 million has been confiscated by a judge in Canada's Supreme Court. The ruling came after the judge brought CEO of CipherTrace that performs tracing operations on crypto to notice illegal activities where it was indeed found the case was dealing on the dark web with BTC.

 “(The case) forced agencies to start thinking about cryptocurrency investigations as a reality more than a possibility.”

thoughts?

This is actually good if we see it in a positive manner. If governments are confident that investigations can be performed upon cryptocurrency cases and the person involved in scam can be proved guilty then governments might even think of making BTC legal in their respective countries. Because Anonymity is a big reason why most of the governments are against this.

However, if we see from one end then this means that BTC was never that anonymous and anyone can be traced out using different types of blockchain explorers and data. Moreover with advent of KYC even people can be identified linked with different addresses.

Time and time again, it is already proven that anonymity is getting to be a myth as far as Bitcoin is concerned. A deep investigation can uncover details which can implicate a person doing illegal transactions on the dark web or anywhere. In this case, the reason why Bitcoin was confiscated because of the owner's illegal activities. However, if the guy used the US Dollar then the same fate can happen. Indeed, this can be a big lesson to anyone never to assume that just because Bitcoin is used then he can get away from the reach of the laws of the land.

Obviously it's just a myth, although bitcoin address doesn't have any name association, but with the latest technology of tracking your foot print, they can easily identify you despite the (pseudo)anonymity of bitcoin. Blockchain is transparent, everything can be seen and that is where the government is looking at to find who are those individuals who do illegal stuff and trying to hide it through crypto currency, so this is a big lessons for everyone.

[Netnox]

Obviously it's just a myth, although bitcoin address doesn't have any name association, but with the latest technology of tracking your foot print, they can easily identify you despite the (pseudo)anonymity of bitcoin. Blockchain is transparent, everything can be seen and that is where the government is looking at to find who are those individuals who do illegal stuff and trying to hide it through crypto currency, so this is a big lessons for everyone.

Even Satoshi would not claim that Bitcoins are completely anonymous. The log of each and every activity is included there in the blockchain. Still, the authorities will find it extremely hard to track you. But once you involve fiat cash in the equation, the situation changes. Fiat is not anonymous, and they can track it back to your Bitcoin wallet.

[Kemarit]

Obviously it's just a myth, although bitcoin address doesn't have any name association, but with the latest technology of tracking your foot print, they can easily identify you despite the (pseudo)anonymity of bitcoin. Blockchain is transparent, everything can be seen and that is where the government is looking at to find who are those individuals who do illegal stuff and trying to hide it through crypto currency, so this is a big lessons for everyone.

Even Satoshi would not claim that Bitcoins are completely anonymous. The log of each and every activity is included there in the blockchain. Still, the authorities will find it extremely hard to track you. But once you involve fiat cash in the equation, the situation changes. Fiat is not anonymous, and they can track it back to your Bitcoin wallet.

Obviously, your identity will be reveal one you exchange your crypto's to fiat. I don't know about privacy coins though, I'm not into it. Blockchain forensics is also evolving, but if you know who to hide your tracks then it will be more difficult for investigators to track you down. But I guess if you are not doing illegal and hiding from authorities you will be ok.

[Netnox]

Obviously, your identity will be reveal one you exchange your crypto's to fiat. I don't know about privacy coins though, I'm not into it. Blockchain forensics is also evolving, but if you know who to hide your tracks then it will be more difficult for investigators to track you down. But I guess if you are not doing illegal and hiding from authorities you will be ok.

For the completely anonymous coins (such as Zcash, Verge, Monero.etc), the advantage is that the transactions are not recorded anywhere, unlike the case with Ethereum or Bitcoin. But then, once you try to convert your crypto to fiat, the same issue will persist. That is, unless you are contacting some trader personally and selling your crypto for physical cash.

If you are using these anonymous coins only for purchasing stuff (and not to convert back to fiat), then I guess you should be OK. But even then, I will never use them for any illegal business. What if some bugs are found with these coins, that can enable the authorities to track you?

[goaldigger]

https://micky.com.au/bitcoin-worth-1-million-confiscated-in-canada-over-landmark-ruling/

Bitcoin worth over $1 million has been confiscated by a judge in Canada's Supreme Court. The ruling came after the judge brought CEO of CipherTrace that performs tracing operations on crypto to notice illegal activities where it was indeed found the case was dealing on the dark web with BTC.

 “(The case) forced agencies to start thinking about cryptocurrency investigations as a reality more than a possibility.”

thoughts?

Cryptocurrency is good not unless the government will interfere and make it illegal. Ofcourse, you can still use it behind the black curtains but when the time comes that the government will investigate and retrieve and collect all your coins then your probably doomed.

[elisabetheva]

It sounds like they have some sort of tracking software which I think is great for companies and individuals. We wouldn't want another Quadriga case to break out again. I worry if it did it will leave a lot of people bitter about crypto and we lose out on mass adoption

The hope of all those who participated in the crypto is that this kind of thing does not happen again, as stated above that if it happens often like this it will make many people who feel crypto doing a lot of cheating will affect many people who are afraid to join crypto.

[marcbitcoins]

This is why i favor the regulation to ensure that Bitcoin currency will not be use in illegal activities. Can you imagine of what will be the future damage that will happen if those drugs and guns will bypass the national security and will successfully to enter Canada? Expect that it will create lot of trouble for the Canadian people specially to the youth. So hopefully people will continue to support the regulation specially in other countries that regulation is still undecided.

[imstillthebest]

It sounds like they have some sort of tracking software which I think is great for companies and individuals. We wouldn't want another Quadriga case to break out again. I worry if it did it will leave a lot of people bitter about crypto and we lose out on mass adoption

The hope of all those who participated in the crypto is that this kind of thing does not happen again, as stated above that if it happens often like this it will make many people who feel crypto doing a lot of cheating will affect many people who are afraid to join crypto.

You mean the hacking/inside job that happen to quadriga ?  Not only on quadriga but the latest was binance hacking  .  Hacking is a normal thing because we are online . But if you are talking about the spyware that the other guy mentioned then i think its not apropriate anymore  . The reason why we use crypto is because of anonimity and for privacy , we dont want to get tracked by someone else   

[Netnox]

This is why i favor the regulation to ensure that Bitcoin currency will not be use in illegal activities. Can you imagine of what will be the future damage that will happen if those drugs and guns will bypass the national security and will successfully to enter Canada? Expect that it will create lot of trouble for the Canadian people specially to the youth. So hopefully people will continue to support the regulation specially in other countries that regulation is still undecided.

Are you joking? It is the responsibility of the law enforcement to make sure that guns and narcotics doesn't enter Canada. And the crypto-community has nothing to do with it. If the cops admit that they are incapable of doing that, then they should entrust that responsibility to some third party. Bitcoin community is already doing its best to prevent the misuse of the coins for criminal activity.

[alexcopper]

As per the News article it says that the user was involved in buying/selling illegal items such as drugs and weapons over dark web. Total amount seized is around 281.14 BTC.
I wonder why these guys use bitcoins when they can easily escape with use of XMR aka Monero.

I feel like most people don't realize that public ledgers like Bitcoin can be tracked and traced. This leads to my next question regarding regulation of Monero and how long the government will keep it going until their involvement

[jjbanks994]

https://micky.com.au/bitcoin-worth-1-million-confiscated-in-canada-over-landmark-ruling/

Bitcoin worth over $1 million has been confiscated by a judge in Canada's Supreme Court. The ruling came after the judge brought CEO of CipherTrace that performs tracing operations on crypto to notice illegal activities where it was indeed found the case was dealing on the dark web with BTC.

 “(The case) forced agencies to start thinking about cryptocurrency investigations as a reality more than a possibility.”

thoughts?

This is actually good if we see it in a positive manner. If governments are confident that investigations can be performed upon cryptocurrency cases and the person involved in scam can be proved guilty then governments might even think of making BTC legal in their respective countries. Because Anonymity is a big reason why most of the governments are against this.

However, if we see from one end then this means that BTC was never that anonymous and anyone can be traced out using different types of blockchain explorers and data. Moreover with advent of KYC even people can be identified linked with different addresses.

I couldn't agree more with you but my question then becomes when BTC is 'confiscated' where does it go? Do we lose it and if so does that affect the entire system as a whole?

[jjbanks994]

https://micky.com.au/bitcoin-worth-1-million-confiscated-in-canada-over-landmark-ruling/

Bitcoin worth over $1 million has been confiscated by a judge in Canada's Supreme Court. The ruling came after the judge brought CEO of CipherTrace that performs tracing operations on crypto to notice illegal activities where it was indeed found the case was dealing on the dark web with BTC.

 “(The case) forced agencies to start thinking about cryptocurrency investigations as a reality more than a possibility.”

thoughts?

This is actually good if we see it in a positive manner. If governments are confident that investigations can be performed upon cryptocurrency cases and the person involved in scam can be proved guilty then governments might even think of making BTC legal in their respective countries. Because Anonymity is a big reason why most of the governments are against this.

However, if we see from one end then this means that BTC was never that anonymous and anyone can be traced out using different types of blockchain explorers and data. Moreover with advent of KYC even people can be identified linked with different addresses.

yep I agree with you. btc has always been a public blockchain which ultimately means with the right technology the addresses can be traced. I am sure it's a lot harder to trace the bitcoins  back to the actual person but it's a possibility? Is that how this guy got found?