In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris and subsequent threats in other major population centers around the world (i.e. Belgium & Mali), Bitcoin has come under scrutiny as a preferred medium of exchange for terrorists worldwide. Already European authorities are threatening to crack down on the burgeoning cryptocurrency as it’s perceived as a means to fund terrorist threats.
Why is this happening? First, this is one of the usual symptoms of the blame game. Rather than look at the root cause of the attacks or rational solutions to halt like attacks in the future, the powers that be go after a “symptom” of the methodology of the attacks. Put another way, rather than point the finger at the fiat currencies that fund the vast majority of terrorist attacks in addition to other illicit behaviors worldwide, our leaders go after something that could actually be a threat to their control of the system. That threat is Bitcoin.
Building on this, Bitcoin is a convenient target for those who do not want to look at how their policies may have been one of the primary drivers of these acts. Granted, these acts of evil by the terrorists are unforgivable. However, it behooves us to look at why the West is being attacked and see what we can do from a diplomatic standpoint to prevent like acts going forward…because what we’re doing now is not working.
Lastly, I think shifting the blame to cryptocurrencies helps murky the waters of responsibility. If people started digging deep to see who was funding groups like ISIS (the money is coming from someone / somewhere powerful) they might not like what they see. Follow the money they say….and I think the Bitcoin blame game actually juts people off course as they start down this path.
The fact of the matter is that Bitcoin is not at fault for the death of innocent people. Bitcoin is a way to transfer value and no, it isn’t completely anonymous. Transactions can be tracked and it’s actually a poor alternative, privacy wise, when it comes to cold hard cash agreements. Bitcoin should not be blamed in lieu of finding the truth of the matter. Don’t blame revolutionary technology for diplomatic crisis, for Bitcoin is math, not a weapon of mass destruction.