How bitcoin can affect money laundering: a qualitative analysis

Bitcoin was introduced for the first time in 2009 by somebody called Satoshi Nakamoto. it has constantly increased its value over the years and people worldwide have talked much about it. Every time there is room for improvement and capital is exchanged, we can see two different paths: the first one is the legal one, in which people and institutions collaborate with each other’s in order to find a solution to the problem. The second path, the one I will focus more, is the illegal part. If you can be anonymous surfing the internet, if you can send and receive money, or whatever items, without being tracked by authorities and so on, there will be someone, anywhere in the world, that will do it. This has made Bitcoin the perfect tool for money laundry, drug exchange, smuggling and purchase of weapons. The goal of this paper is to introduce the concept of Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain, linking it with criminal action such as money laundry. I will provide a clear and simple analysis of the Cryptocurrencies world and anything that turns around it, investigating on how this new technology could be related to illicit activities, such as money laundry. Due to an increasing knowledge regarding the topic, even criminal organization and hacker started using it as a payment method. I would rather say that the latter are the most familiar with the topic. In order to literally steal information or even online currency, you have to be extremely familiar with these technologies and, secondly, you must have a lot of money behind you so that you can operate with no problem at all.