Digital assets are used in many areas, including as a means of payment on the darknet by those seeking maximum anonymity in transactions that regulators consider dubious.
Cryptocurrencies are especially popular with merchants such as illegal drugs, weapons, and other illegal items. Darknet users are driving markets on the web using special software such as the TOR browser to bypass the inaccessibility of such goods using cryptocurrency with its pseudo-anonymity for transactions. Such transactions and the very concept of decentralization limit the ability of global intelligence agencies to control.
Sellers of illegal goods grabbed onto the principle of decentralization of cryptocurrencies early on, using them long before bitcoin became a household name. A prime example is the Silk Road online marketplace launched on the darknet. He relied heavily on Bitcoin, while the token remained a mystery to many back in 2011.
Alexander Lazarenko, Head of Research and Development at Group-IB, one of the largest providers of solutions aimed at detecting and preventing cyber attacks, shared his opinion with Cointelegraph on why cryptocurrencies are popular among criminals:
“Although transactions carried out in bitcoin are distinguished by their transparency, they still provide cybercriminals with significant anonymity. Since cryptocurrencies are usually decentralized and do not belong to any particular national jurisdiction, transactions using them are not closely monitored by the monetary authorities. Another obvious reason why cybercriminals are passionate about cryptocurrencies is the lack of the need to disclose the true personal information of their owners. "