Bitcoin to Spend $1 Billion in Illegal Online Marketplaces

Digital coin 'Bitcoin' spent $515 million, this year on the so-called Dark Web, according to the firm, which helps companies dealing in cryptocurrency exchanges. Bitcoin’s use in illegal online marketplaces peddling everything from drugs to child porn is on pace to set a record this year at more than $1 billion, according to a report by Chainalysis.

The growth in illicit Bitcoin spending may be alarming, a major caveat is that the proportion of Bitcoin transactions tied to illicit deals is declining. Illegal activity has accounted for less than 1% of all Bitcoin activity so far this year, down from 7% in 2012.

The cryptocurrency is though still far from its all-time highs of just under $20,000, which it hit on December 2017. But according to CNN, crypto investors are increasingly optimistic that the bitcoin bounce of 2019 is real and that it and other cryptocurrencies may enjoy a steady march higher.

Meanwhile, Hydra is the largest of all the illegal online marketplaces, according to Chainalysis, which examined transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain to see how much was being spent on these sites. Drugs are the most prominent category of goods sold, but child porn and stolen credit-card information are also in demand, Chainalysis found.

Digital coin 'Bitcoin'

Noteworthy, the huge crash in 2018 was a correction after a speculative mania. The gains in 2017 were astronomical, according to Everett Millman, an analyst with Gainesville Coins, an investment firm specializing in precious metals and digital currencies.