Ex-head of the CIA: “It's easier to track bitcoins, than cash " – Bits Media

Former CIA chief Michael Morell said, that governments should use blockchain to track illegal activity.

Michael Morell (Michael Morell) described as exaggerated the opinion of regulators that, that bitcoin is being used by criminals For money laundering, financing of terrorism and tax evasion. According to the former intelligence officer, Blockchain technology is very useful for regulatory authorities. Therefore, government should not avoid the use of blockchain, and consider it as an instrument for detecting illegal activities and holding criminals accountable. Morell came to this conclusion during joint research with the Crypto Council for Innovation cryptocurrency alliance (CCI), Square's supporting exchange Coinbase.

Information, recorded in the blockchain, It remains open, And it cannot be changed. Therefore, to track illegal transactions using bitcoin is much easier, how to identify illegal movement of cash abroad. According to Morell, If all criminals used cryptocurrencies, This would have long allowed to eradicate illegal financial activities. However, this contradicts last year's report to the analytical company Chainalysis, cooperating with law enforcement agencies around the world. According to Chainalysis, The use of bitcoin in darknet continues to grow.

Recently Minister of Finance of the United States and ex-chairman of the Fedistic (Janet Yellen) I expressed concern, that cryptocurrencies are used to trade in drugs. Besides, A few months ago, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde (Christine Lagarde) called for regulators to tighten control over bitcoin, Since this cryptocurrency is used for "dirty deeds" and money laundering.

However, the former CIA leader considers, that such statements are not based on specific data, and come from those, who is not aware of the principles of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. People are just afraid of that, What they do not understand, Said Morell. At the same time, he mentioned difficulties, associated with decentralized exchanges. Considering, that such exchanges provide an increased level of anonymity, This can expand the possibilities for illegally moving money.

Recall, that last year the CIA launched a new research unit to study blockchain capabilities.