Therefore what is a cryptocurrency? A cryptocurrency is just a decentralised cost program, which basically lets persons send currency together over the internet without the necessity for a dependable alternative party like a bank or economic institution. The transactions are inexpensive, and oftentimes, they're free. And also, the funds are pseudo unknown as well.

As well as that, the key function is that it's totally decentralised, meaning there's no main point of authority or anything like that. The implications of the is done by everybody else having a complete replicate of all transactions that have actually happened with Bitcoin. This creates a remarkably tough network, meaning no one can change or reverse or police any of the transactions.

The high level of anonymity in there implies that it's quite difficult to track transactions. It's not absolutely difficult, but it's unrealistic in many cases. So crime with cryptocurrency-- because you've got rapidly, borderless transactions,

and you've got a high level of anonymity, it theoretically produces a system that's ready for exploitation. So typically when it's a crime on the web with on line payment methods,

then they tend to attend the authorities and, claim, we can hand over that cost information or we could end these transactions and reverse them. And none of that can happen with Bitcoin, so that it helps it be ready for thieves, in theory.

In light of the, plenty of different agencies are researching into Bitcoin and looking at Bitcoin and attempting to understand how it performs and what they can do to police it. It's been in the media quite a few situations,

and the press, being the media, like focus on the bad area of it. So they really focus very seriously on the crime with it. Therefore if there's a robbery or a fraud or something like that, then they tend to responsibility it on Bitcoin and Bitcoin users.

Therefore probably the most significant might be Cotton Street, which got taken down lately, and through their $1.2 million value of Bitcoins, gone to fund anything from medications to guns going to guys to these kinds of things. And the media, again, quickly at fault this on Bitcoins and claim that it was the Bitcoin user's fault.

But there's actually almost no evidence of the range of the issue of crime with cryptocurrencies. We don't know if there's a whole lot or we don't know if there's a little. But regardless of this, persons are extremely quick to brand it as a criminal point, and they your investment respectable employs, including the rapidly and rapid payment.

So a few study questions I'michael looking at in this region is what does crime with Bitcoin look like? So forex trading of people may say that cons and thefts have now been going on for ages. However the means through which they occur changes with the technology. So a Victorian street swindler might virtually be performing something very dissimilar to a 419 Nigerian prince scammer.

Therefore another problem that I'd like to analyze as well is taking a look at the scale of the issue of crime with cryptocurrency. So by generating a wood of identified cons and thefts and things like that,