Small people use crypto as tool for their crimes but most have legitimate use.

[Antona]

I think this is a major resistance for crypto adoption. What do you think?

The major resistance against crypto is the government. They don't want something that they cannot control. Yes, they can regulate it, but still they don't have full control over it. That's the reason why they create a false narrative that Bitcoin could be use to run a large syndicate because of it's anonymity, which it was never true. Money laundering and other money related fraud long existed just before Bitcoin was created. If people really intend to make crimes, they could always opt to use any currency or any form of money they can.

It has always been the government who's afraid of Bitcoin.

You're right about the control aspect for sure. But I think for some politicians, it's less about deep fear and more about simple lobbying. Big banks and financial firms that fund campaigns see Bitcoin as competition. So the "crime" narrative is a convenient weapon those lobbyists push. It's not always a grand governmental fear, sometimes it's just old money protecting its turf using the government as a tool.

[Satofan44]

FATF and UN reports show that the vast majority of money laundering and terrorist financing is still done through the traditional financial system (banks, offshore accounts, real estate, cash).  Simply put: criminals still prefer cash and complex banking schemes due to higher volume and less tracing in some phases.

Correct. Anyway, it is much easier to trick old people to buy you gift cards than to buy Bitcoin and send it correctly to you. One requires reading the gift code or sending a picture, the other is much more complex. Nevertheless, it does happen sometimes but comparatively speaking the number of transactions/ATM scams is minor.

Being decentralized is what I think the reason why they choose it since it isn't easy to track the funds from a wallet to another wallet since there's no identity link to the wallet address.

You completely contradicted yourself in your stupidity. In almost all cryptocurrencies, it is trivial to track the movement of funds from one wallet to another. Whether there is an identity linked to any wallet address is something else entirely.

However, it's undeniable that cryptocurrency-related crimes are increasing day by day compared to previous years, and these crimes are also becoming more diverse and professional. Based on the data I've read from several sources, the confirmed data is only a small percentage.

maybe can see this article:
2025 Crypto Crime Trends)

No, they are not increasing -- read the actual article and use your brain instead of reading a headline and shitposting here. You don't even understand the article that you linked. Absolute number is increasing because the total activity and capitalization has grown, but the % of activity is what matters here (not absolute, useless numbers). It staying low. The percentage of criminal activity is much lower than with bank and cash, therefore it can be ignored.

I would like to know if these journalists writing about Bitcoin being used in crime ever used a knife to cut ingredients, a razor to shave their beard or legs, a lighter to light up a candle, tape to pack a box.  Do they know they are using crime tools?

The Great Britain is by this logic stupid for not banning knifes and razors because it would stop all knife crime it seems.  So would banning tape, because kidnapped victims will be able to scream, so would banning lighters because some people are set on fire using them.

Ban bottled beers too, because bottles are used as molotovs at protests.

Actually in Britain there was a proposal to limit accessibility to knives as a measure against stabbings that are almost exclusively done by a certain group of people. Yes, they are actually dumb enough to propose stuff like that.

[JoyMarsha]

OP, if you notice, the perception the media holds on Bitcoin as tool for money laundering and the rest of other bad things they have in mind have minimize from the way it was at Bitcoin early stage. This is why we have counties legalizing Bitcoin in their countries because the good side of Bitcoin overshadows the bad side some few bad people use it for, compare to the millions of investors who hodl Bitcoin for their future profits to be a millionaires

[Antona]

OP, if you notice, the perception the media holds on Bitcoin as tool for money laundering and the rest of other bad things they have in mind have minimize from the way it was at Bitcoin early stage. This is why we have counties legalizing Bitcoin in their countries because the good side of Bitcoin overshadows the bad side some few bad people use it for, compare to the millions of investors who hodl Bitcoin for their future profits to be a millionaires

Yeah the narrative is definitely shifting. Mainstream is slowly getting that it's more digital property than darknet cash the legalization wave proves the utility and store-of-value argument is winning. Still a long road, but the early FUD is fading for sure.

[marywill9020]

Honestly, I’m all in on this. You can see people are slowly realizing Bitcoin isn’t some “darknet cash” thing, it’s legit digital property. Legalization in different countries and growing adoption just proves it’s got real value and potential. Sure, a few idiots use it wrong, but compared to the millions just hodling and building their financial future, it’s nothing. In the end, the good clearly outweighs the bad, and I’m all for it.

[malekbaba]

Honestly, I’m all in on this. You can see people are slowly realizing Bitcoin isn’t some “darknet cash” thing, it’s legit digital property. Legalization in different countries and growing adoption just proves it’s got real value and potential. Sure, a few idiots use it wrong, but compared to the millions just hodling and building their financial future, it’s nothing. In the end, the good clearly outweighs the bad, and I’m all for it.

Indeed. BTC is the future. People uses fiats also to do all sort of crimes. Like money laundering, gambling, illegitimate arm dealing, human trafficing. But the media people always blame crypto as if, crypto is the only way to pay for all criminal acts. And they spread bad names about crypto very successfully. Millions of people are using crypto for their financial freedom. It is very strong tool. And if anyone uses tool for destructive action, btc is not to blame

[X-ray]

OP, if you notice, the perception the media holds on Bitcoin as tool for money laundering and the rest of other bad things they have in mind have minimize from the way it was at Bitcoin early stage. This is why we have counties legalizing Bitcoin in their countries because the good side of Bitcoin overshadows the bad side some few bad people use it for, compare to the millions of investors who hodl Bitcoin for their future profits to be a millionaires

They stopped fudding about how bitcoin is used for illicit thing as soon as the government legitimize it. I think it's mainly coming from not understanding about bitcoin as a whole and clickbait content.

It's basically herd mentality, just because some tradfi influencers are fudding bitcoin back in the days, everybody formed the same biased thought without delving deeper into the subject.

As it happens as of now, your bitcoin is just as good as gold or fiat, if not better. Coming from the fact that banks have started accepting it as a collateral for loan based on latest news though it only few banks still.

[ancafe]

Crypto has faced media trial from the very beginning. In early days of crypto, it was said that crypto is currency for bad people only.
money launderer not only use Crypto to launder money.
drug dealers and ARM dealers also use Fiat for their trade. and not all the cryptos are fully anonymous or impossible to trace.  it is true
That crypto is still illegal in some countries but those countries shows highest rate of money laundering, corruption, drug dealing and human trafficking is very common in those countries. So, main stream media works for central bank and spread only bad things about crypto.
I think this is a major resistance for crypto adoption. What do you think?

There's nothing wrong with this clamp, as it may have happened before, and crypto in general is involved in it, exploited by irresponsible individuals. Have you ever considered that fiat currencies also contribute significantly to money laundering cases, and many bad actors commit their crimes with them. The media or narrative that is emerging today cannot be contained because public information is now much more open on social media. People say it's difficult to track money laundering and crimes using crypto, but they don't realize that Bitcoin can also be tracked.

Negative news is deliberately created to create chaos, but I don't see Bitcoin adoption being hampered because you can test its impact on Bitcoin's trajectory. On the positive side, we see Bitcoin's resilience increasingly being tested and it's a good choice after the negative narrative continues to spread.

[dzungmobile]

Have you ever considered that fiat currencies also contribute significantly to money laundering cases, and many bad actors commit their crimes with them. The media or narrative that is emerging today cannot be contained because public information is now much more open on social media. People say it's difficult to track money laundering and crimes using crypto, but they don't realize that Bitcoin can also be tracked.

To launder money, they need to find where to do that and they need good liquidity. Fiat currencies and banks can provide better liquidity for money laundering while Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market is still young. It has become more favorite choice by criminals for money laundering with time by its increasing market liquidity.

With time, with growth of the market, criminals are able to launder bigger money in this market, so it has become more favorite with time but Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market is still very smaller than traditional market, where criminals can launder bigger fund.

[Muba20]

Crypto has faced media trial from the very beginning. In early days of crypto, it was said that crypto is currency for bad people only.
money launderer not only use Crypto to launder money.
drug dealers and ARM dealers also use Fiat for their trade. and not all the cryptos are fully anonymous or impossible to trace.  it is true
That crypto is still illegal in some countries but those countries shows highest rate of money laundering, corruption, drug dealing and human trafficking is very common in those countries. So, main stream media works for central bank and spread only bad things about crypto.
I think this is a major resistance for crypto adoption. What do you think?

Fiat money is used by all. Those who commit crimes they use this money. Now, should we blame fiat money for that crime? If this is understood simply, then it will be easy to understand the issue of Bitcoin as well. Bitcoin is a medium of exchange that can be used for both good and bad. It depends on the person doing the work whether he will do good or evil, but Bitcoin has no crime. Those who are confused about it only oppose Bitcoin by making false allegations.

The use of fiat money is gradually decreasing, the use of Bitcoin and crypto is increasing, so if there is a crime in the future, many can take advantage of it, but it should be remembered that Bitcoin was not born for some isolated incidents.

[Die_empty]

Indeed. BTC is the future. People uses fiats also to do all sort of crimes. Like money laundering, gambling, illegitimate arm dealing, human trafficing. But the media people always blame crypto as if, crypto is the only way to pay for all criminal acts. And they spread bad names about crypto very successfully. Millions of people are using crypto for their financial freedom. It is very strong tool. And if anyone uses tool for destructive action, btc is not to blame

Is gambling a criminal activity, maybe in places where it is banned? But generally, gambling is not seen as a crime. The toughest financial transaction to trace is physical fiat. It can easily be transferred from one person to another without a trace. Even if it is marked, it can still be used without a trace.

I live in a place where kidnapping is a popular crime. None of these kidnappers has asked for ransom in cryptocurrencies. They prefer physical fiat and other valuables. The campaign that crypto is used for criminal endeavours is old and outdated because we all know the truth.

[Satofan44]

OP, if you notice, the perception the media holds on Bitcoin as tool for money laundering and the rest of other bad things they have in mind have minimize from the way it was at Bitcoin early stage. This is why we have counties legalizing Bitcoin in their countries because the good side of Bitcoin overshadows the bad side some few bad people use it for, compare to the millions of investors who hodl Bitcoin for their future profits to be a millionaires

The usage of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in criminal activities always constituted a tiny percentage compared to normal activities. Therefore to claim this was never correct. As these instruments get more widely used then this dilutes the criminal activities even further, now they represent a very tiny amount as I have demonstrated. This will continue to shrink in the future as they get more widespread usage. In Bitcoin we see a more natural change in the percentages, as other cryptocurrencies often have many transactions that are made by bots.

Indeed. BTC is the future. People uses fiats also to do all sort of crimes. Like money laundering, gambling, illegitimate arm dealing, human trafficing. But the media people always blame crypto as if, crypto is the only way to pay for all criminal acts. And they spread bad names about crypto very successfully. Millions of people are using crypto for their financial freedom. It is very strong tool. And if anyone uses tool for destructive action, btc is not to blame

Most crime is conducted by fiat, it does not even close. If we pooled all crime and grouped it based on the instrument used, probably cryptocurrencies do not even reach 1% of total crime. Therefore to every blame it for crime or say that it is mostly used by criminals is wrong. Many people who state these things are often very uneducated or they have a malicious motive for which they are saying this.

To launder money, they need to find where to do that and they need good liquidity. Fiat currencies and banks can provide better liquidity for money laundering while Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market is still young. It has become more favorite choice by criminals for money laundering with time by its increasing market liquidity.

With time, with growth of the market, criminals are able to launder bigger money in this market, so it has become more favorite with time but Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market is still very smaller than traditional market, where criminals can launder bigger fund.

Money laundering per definition requires Bitcoin and actually a bank account. You can't take "bad" Bitcoin (tainted, or as a result of criminal activities), exchange it for good Bitcoin using some method and then call it a day. That is not what money laundering is. The next step is what is required to finish money laundering, so claiming anything other than this requires fiat and banks is categorically wrong. We are nowhere near the state of things where you could do it without fiat. Bitcoin would need to have widespread acceptance for this to be possible. What they don't tell you because they are malicious is the following. Money laundering has 3 stages: placement, layering, and integration. Cryptocurrencies are great for layering, but fiat and the banking system are needed for integration.

[Smartvirus]

Crypto has faced media trial from the very beginning. In early days of crypto, it was said that crypto is currency for bad people only.
money launderer not only use Crypto to launder money.
drug dealers and ARM dealers also use Fiat for their trade. and not all the cryptos are fully anonymous or impossible to trace. 

There are services that exists within the cryptocurrency operations that breaks the chain link of transactions and makes it untraceable otherwise, these chain links can be traced and should you use a KYC enabled service in cashing it out into fiat at some point, you would be identified and if this had come from the wrong side of the law, you would be prosecuted as it applies.

Other than that, their propaganda of Bitcoin being used for illicit purposes doesn’t stand. Fiat has and still continues to be used up to this day and the relevant agencies would be forced to act as ot applies.

[EluguHcman]

Crypto has faced media trial from the very beginning. In early days of crypto, it was said that crypto is currency for bad people only.
money launderer not only use Crypto to launder money.

Maybe we don't need to argue it that Bitcoin is not used for illegal transactions. The clarity is that Bitcoin is primarily made to be used as alternative of the fiats to make payments.
So in the right sense you can say its privacy and anonymity consensus in the Blockchain is being a point of criminals using it to pass their transactions.

Also, drug traffics and money laundering had been ongoing over the decades before Bitcoin was just invented and then was the fiats and also existence means was used to clear these payments.
If you keep having that mindset is for criminals, then you are just letting being fooled by the critics.

[Stablexcoin]

I think this is a major resistance for crypto adoption. What do you think?

Bitcoin or crypto is not the only currency that criminals use to launder money, but it will mostly be talked about since the government doesn't have control over the market, one way or the other, they make the story believable in order to regulate cryptocurrencies for their personal interest. Those newly interested in Bitcoin should take time to understand why Bitcoin was created, the internet usually carries false information, which will be believed by most people if not verified from the right source or getting the knowledge.