Criminals in Italy and Germany are increasingly making use of cryptocurrencies, according to the customs directorate in Bonn, Germany.
“The use of cryptocurrencies for online payment in the context of criminal offences is clearly on the rise,’’ the directorate said in a recent statement.
According to investigators’ findings, in most cases the perpetrators use Bitcoin and the currency Monero.
Cryptocurrency is a digital payment system that doesn’t rely on banks to verify transactions.
Instead of being physical money that is carried around and exchanged in the real world, pop cryptocurrency payments exist purely as digital entries to an online database that describe specific transactions.
Cryptocurrencies were used in the context of criminal offences to completely anonymise ordering and shipping procedures for illicit products or services.
Many experts believe that blockchain and related technology will disrupt many industries, including finance and law.
Neither German nor Italian police authorities provided precise information about operations, sums or damage.
