Bitcoin dark side
By Denham Sadler on Mar 27 The research report could have huge ramifications and is likely to impact all cryptocurrencies. It could mean anyone that owns Bitcoin is breaking the law. This would also apply in Australia, which shares similar laws in the space. The issue is with one of the fundamental structures of the blockchain. Open your browser… save lives. Is blockchain the future of cyber security? A similar approach could be used for lesser physical crimes, such as high-profile vandalism.
He and his coauthors say they are trying to publicize the potential for such activity to get technologists and policy makers thinking about how to make sure the positives of smart contracts outweigh the negatives. Nicolas Christin , an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University who has studied criminal uses of Bitcoin, agrees there is potential for smart contracts to be embraced by the underground.
Indeed, some criminals have made significant gains from Bitcoin. The Perfect Internet Crime? And Christin published a paper this week tracing the evolution of online marketplaces for contraband that have been partly enabled by Bitcoin. It shows that although the most notorious, Silk Road, was taken down by U. Still, Christin notes that the scale of criminal activity made possible by Bitcoin today, and perhaps by smart contracts in the future, is tiny compared with more traditional, cash-based physical crimes.
Smart contracts are also more complex to use than Bitcoin transactions, he adds. Writing a smart contract or properly understanding the terms of one takes specialized programming skills. Gavin Wood, chief technology officer at Ethereum, notes that legitimate businesses are already planning to make use of his technology—for example, to provide a digitally transferable proof of ownership of gold , and to power a lottery system. However, Wood acknowledges it is likely that Ethereum will be used in ways that break the law—and even says that is part of what makes the technology interesting.
Just as file sharing found widespread unauthorized use and forced changes in the entertainment and tech industries, illicit activity enabled by Ethereum could change the world, he says. Regulators like those harrying Uber in many places around the world would be left with nothing to target. Catch up with our coverage of the event. A new prototype gets at how—and why—manufacturers and product designers might benefit from a blockchain. Six issues of our award winning print magazine, unlimited online access plus The Download with the top tech stories delivered daily to your inbox.
Here you can mingle in poor lighting fully anonymous without the need to look over your shoulder. Create Account Lost Your Password? Toggle navigation Toggle profile. Hey, you might even bump into your bitcoin buddy. JS Smit is a Cape Town-based freelance writer.
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