Dark Side of Digital Economy – Evil Uses of Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrencies

Blockchain Technology and cryptocurrencies have revolutionized the world completely. With every passing day, researchers are coming up with newer use cases for blockchain and crypto, which makes them highly desirable for the future.

However, everything in this world, even that which seems to be the most magnificent on its face, has some of the other ill-effects. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are no exception. The benefits which the innovative technology boasts, are the same being misused by fringe elements, terrorists, drug pedlars, and even digital pirates.

The Dark Web is one such example, which is a big misuse of blockchain technology. The decentralized privacy focused browser is as secure as the Tor browser built by the US Navy. This makes tracking users extremely difficult. The Dark Web has become one of the most preferred platforms for evil elements of society to buy and sell prohibited items like drugs.

Australia has been one of the major countries for The Dark Web usage. It also has the highest per capita drug deals on The Dark Web. Recently, a drug pedlar was sentenced to 18 months for selling MDMA tablets on the platform. The accused used the decentralized platform’s privacy to sell the banned tablets and accepted Bitcoins as payments.

Apart from this, Bitcoins and other altcoins are notoriously famous for being the preferred choice for criminals and terrorists to complete cross-border transactions. Due to the anonymity associated with blockchain, it gets difficult to find the exact details as opposed to the traditional systems, where the IP address is enough to track someone.

Another major drawback of cryptocurrencies is the lack of awareness among the general public. Due to this, several frauds and scams take place now and then, robbing people of their digital assets worth thousands of dollars.