There will be PayPal’s online payments platform allow customers to pay for products and services that use Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. PayPal plans to roll out purchasing options in the US over the coming weeks. However, when it comes to using the coins, the service will be completely prison, meaning users will not have the keys to their own coins. Nevertheless, in response to the announcement, the price of bitcoin rose sharply by almost 5%.
UK fintech company, Mode Global Holdings converts ten percent of its money into Bitcoin. The move follows a long list of institutional entities, including MicroStrategy, Square and Stone Ridge that see Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation.
Larry Harmon, now owner of the bitcoin mixing companies Coin Ninja and Helix be capped with $ 60 million a fine from the Financial Crime Enforcement Network. The organization claims that by using its companies to mix crypto transactions and cash together, Harmon violated the Bank Secrecy Act and failed to properly implement anti-money laundering protocols.
Darkside cybercrime institute has gift about $ 10,000 in BTC to charitable organizations like Children International and the Water Project. Judging from the verbiage in the press release, it is alleged that the donation came from a desire to “make a difference” in people’s lives, although it is questionable whether, given they are likely to stem from theft of sources.
And now, this week’s Bitcoin Quick Question is: Why is bitcoin assumed to be associated with criminals?
Bitcoin is assumed to be associated with criminals for various reasons, which ultimately all culminate in how the media has presented bitcoin to their audiences.
The 3 main reasons:
- First, Silkroad – formerly the “Amazon” of the dark web, where people were able to trade illicit products such as marijuana and fake drug prescriptions using Bitcoin as payment. When Silkroad was closed by the FBI, bitcoin had a great deal of contact with it in the media.
- Then second, exchange hacks – there have been several high-profile attacks on bitcoin exchanges that have resulted in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin, heavily reported in the media
- And finally, the third reason is ransomware attacks – hackers have become fond of using bitcoin as a ransom after taking over the internal organization systems of local governments and corporations.
On the other hand, a recent report by research firm Chainalysis, suggests that only 1% of Bitcoin transactions were used for illegal activities in 2019. This means that digital coins account for only a fraction of the cash-funded crimes.
For more information on criminal activity in crypto visit the loop in the description below.
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That’s what’s happened this week in crypto. See you next week.