The U.S. and Korean police and authorities have broken up one of the world’s largest markets for child pornography.
Bitcoin and digital currencies are often blamed when it comes to online transactions where users are committing illegal acts.
With all the issues surrounding anti-money laundering and arms deals now it seems that the fact these illicit transactions were made with Bitcoin actually helped police.
The case was against a South Korean national named Jong Woo Son, 23, who authorities say used the Darknet market to accept Bitcoin and distribute more than 1 million sexually explicit videos involving children. It has been said authorities rescued at least 23 minor victims in the U.S., U.K. and Spain who were being actively abused by the site’s users.
Agents from the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division determined the location of the Darknet server in South Korea. They then identified Son and found the physical location of the website according to Don Fort who is chief of the division.
“Our agency’s ability to analyze the blockchain and de-anonymize Bitcoin transactions allowed for the identification of hundreds of predators around the world,” added Don Fort,
So although transactions are said to be anonymous with some coins, this investigation managed to use Bitcoin’s Blockchain as a positive and bring down a massive criminal organisation. Maybe this will take some heat off Bitcoin in the eyes of regulators and governments.
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