According to the Italian Anti-Mafia Office (DIA), mafia groups and criminal organizations are increasingly using cryptocurrencies.
“All criminal organizations, including mafia organizations, are interested in using these tools in their operations,” a DIA spokesman told Zeit Online.
The DIA recently released a report on organized crime activities in Italy for the first six months of 2020, the most recent period for which data is available.
“The Ndrangheta, the country’s most powerful and powerful crime syndicate, is increasingly focusing on modern tools such as cryptocurrency and the shadow internet,” the report says.
The authors of the report also noted that cryptocurrencies are used to anonymously pay for synthetic drugs, such as ecstasy or LSD, the trade of which has grown amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cryptocurrencies and the power of the shadow internet have long been exploited by criminals, but darknet sellers have made more money in 2020 than ever before.
According to a December 2020 report by analyst firm Chainalysis, the number of darknet markets has been shrinking, but the remaining sites have been increasing their revenues during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“While the total revenue of the darknet markets has already surpassed the results of 2019, the total number of purchases and potential customers has dropped significantly, although the average purchase price has increased,” says the Chainalysis report.
The revenue growth came from cryptocurrencies including BTC, BCH, LTC and USDT, which confirms the DIA’s statement.
Blockchain Research Lab co-founder Ingo Fiedler suggested that the illegal use of cryptocurrencies is increasingly becoming a matter of sophisticated criminals – the mafia and criminal organizations.
“Right now, only the most sophisticated attackers can hide their tracks,” Fiedler said. “This discourages small dealers from participating in the market and leads to a decrease in the total number of traders.”
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