After what seemed like a brief spell where the market’s altcoins noted movement independent of that of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, at press time, it seemed...
The more obscure the market, the more obscure the currency used is not true for the darknet. The underbelly of the underbelly of the internet, the...
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, continues to dictate the price movements of most of the altcoin market. However, it would seem that its effect on the...
Bitcoin fell. Not by a lot, but Bitcoin fell over the past 24-hours. At press time Bitcoin was being traded at $9171 with a 24-hour trading...
![Alternate headlines: Bitcoin over privacy coins in the sextortion-ring; here's why Here's why Bitcoin is favoured over privacy coins for sextortion Bitcoin structure over Monero's privacy in sextortion scams Bitcoin, not Monero is the most used sextortion crypto Bitcoin has had a slew of crimes related to it in the past few years, that's the price you pay for using a censorship-resistant universal cryptocurrency. But looking at the facets of what makes a criminal gravitate towards a particular form of payment, one can say that among cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin does not have all the best facets, yet it is the most widely used. With specialized altcoins each satisfying a niche demand within the financial and technological space, the "general" king coin many not have the best specific features, but on an overall trend it fares better. Consider the case of sextortion scams, a method of siphoning victims by threatening to leak 'sensitive' media, of the sexual variety, if a ransom in Bitcoin is not paid. Since Bitcoin addresses can be deciphered for each transaction, and subsequently traced, on the face of things, it might not be the cryptocurrency of choice, especially with the likes of privacy coins like Monero [XMR] and Zcash [ZEC] making the rounds. However, given the robust nature of Bitcoin's blockchain, its sustainable financial infrastructure, and its more image beyond just the cryptocurrency world, it is picked ahead of its privacy counterparts. Sextortion scammers "rely on the easiest and most well-known currency," said Dave Jevans the CEO of CipherTrace, a blockchain analytics firm which completed a five-month study on sextortion campaigns using Bitcoin. Since these scams are "widespread and not targeted," there is a greater need to use a universal currency over a private currency. But this does not mean the private currency cannot be used in the transaction to skew tracing. Jevans told AMBCrypto, "There are hundreds of exchanges where you can purchase bitcoin and thousands of Bitcoin ATMs around the world. Criminals can always take the bitcoin payments, then swap them to a privacy coin, move them around a bit, then back into bitcoin for cash-out." Given the financial infrastructure of Bitcoin, liquidation becomes easier. Kim Grauer, the head of research at Chainalysis, another blockchain analytics currency told AMBCrypto that Bitcoin is by far the "most liquid currency." In such scams, the perpetrators strive for a balance between convenience and privacy of payment. In this spectrum, Bitcoin and Monero lie at opposite ends. Hence, there is a choice between the two, but Grauer states that despite the "enhanced privacy" of the latter, Bitcoin is the obvious choice. In an email to AMBCrypto, she stated, "Bad actors often have to choose between using a cryptocurrency like Monero for its enhanced privacy and Bitcoin for its convenience, availability, and liquidity. Bitcoin usually wins, especially as exchanges increasingly delist privacy coins in light of regulations." Privacy coins are not dismissed outright, they are used to a minimal extent in these cases, but only "nearly to the same extent as Bitcoin." This mis-allocation of specialised coins for specialised purposes goes beyond criminal activities and is true for general used-cases as well. Grauer stated that "people don't take advantage of privacy features of many cryptocurrencies." Take the case of Zcash, the second most popular privacy coin after Monero. ZEC allows for "shielded transactions," where parties to the transaction are encrypted. Such transactions can be partly shielded, where either the sender, receiver or the transaction amount are encrypted, or completed shielded where everything is. According to Gauer only 14 percent of Zcash transactions "involve one of Zcash’s two shielded pools in some way," and of those transactions only 6 percent are completed shielded which accounts to 0.9 percent of all Zcash transactions. Bitcoin may not be the best cryptocurrency for sextortions, and other scams of this ilk, but it is far more preferable to the underused but better suited privacy coins.](https://engamb.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/05132146/michael-prewett-CrbI6xF1vtA-unsplash-400x240.jpg)
![Alternate headlines: Bitcoin over privacy coins in the sextortion-ring; here's why Here's why Bitcoin is favoured over privacy coins for sextortion Bitcoin structure over Monero's privacy in sextortion scams Bitcoin, not Monero is the most used sextortion crypto Bitcoin has had a slew of crimes related to it in the past few years, that's the price you pay for using a censorship-resistant universal cryptocurrency. But looking at the facets of what makes a criminal gravitate towards a particular form of payment, one can say that among cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin does not have all the best facets, yet it is the most widely used. With specialized altcoins each satisfying a niche demand within the financial and technological space, the "general" king coin many not have the best specific features, but on an overall trend it fares better. Consider the case of sextortion scams, a method of siphoning victims by threatening to leak 'sensitive' media, of the sexual variety, if a ransom in Bitcoin is not paid. Since Bitcoin addresses can be deciphered for each transaction, and subsequently traced, on the face of things, it might not be the cryptocurrency of choice, especially with the likes of privacy coins like Monero [XMR] and Zcash [ZEC] making the rounds. However, given the robust nature of Bitcoin's blockchain, its sustainable financial infrastructure, and its more image beyond just the cryptocurrency world, it is picked ahead of its privacy counterparts. Sextortion scammers "rely on the easiest and most well-known currency," said Dave Jevans the CEO of CipherTrace, a blockchain analytics firm which completed a five-month study on sextortion campaigns using Bitcoin. Since these scams are "widespread and not targeted," there is a greater need to use a universal currency over a private currency. But this does not mean the private currency cannot be used in the transaction to skew tracing. Jevans told AMBCrypto, "There are hundreds of exchanges where you can purchase bitcoin and thousands of Bitcoin ATMs around the world. Criminals can always take the bitcoin payments, then swap them to a privacy coin, move them around a bit, then back into bitcoin for cash-out." Given the financial infrastructure of Bitcoin, liquidation becomes easier. Kim Grauer, the head of research at Chainalysis, another blockchain analytics currency told AMBCrypto that Bitcoin is by far the "most liquid currency." In such scams, the perpetrators strive for a balance between convenience and privacy of payment. In this spectrum, Bitcoin and Monero lie at opposite ends. Hence, there is a choice between the two, but Grauer states that despite the "enhanced privacy" of the latter, Bitcoin is the obvious choice. In an email to AMBCrypto, she stated, "Bad actors often have to choose between using a cryptocurrency like Monero for its enhanced privacy and Bitcoin for its convenience, availability, and liquidity. Bitcoin usually wins, especially as exchanges increasingly delist privacy coins in light of regulations." Privacy coins are not dismissed outright, they are used to a minimal extent in these cases, but only "nearly to the same extent as Bitcoin." This mis-allocation of specialised coins for specialised purposes goes beyond criminal activities and is true for general used-cases as well. Grauer stated that "people don't take advantage of privacy features of many cryptocurrencies." Take the case of Zcash, the second most popular privacy coin after Monero. ZEC allows for "shielded transactions," where parties to the transaction are encrypted. Such transactions can be partly shielded, where either the sender, receiver or the transaction amount are encrypted, or completed shielded where everything is. According to Gauer only 14 percent of Zcash transactions "involve one of Zcash’s two shielded pools in some way," and of those transactions only 6 percent are completed shielded which accounts to 0.9 percent of all Zcash transactions. Bitcoin may not be the best cryptocurrency for sextortions, and other scams of this ilk, but it is far more preferable to the underused but better suited privacy coins.](https://engamb.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/05132146/michael-prewett-CrbI6xF1vtA-unsplash-80x80.jpg)
Bitcoin has had a slew of crimes related to it in the past few years, that’s the price you pay for using a censorship-resistant universal cryptocurrency....
Altcoins, without any organic developments of their own, often find it very hard to move away from the influence Bitcoin’s price has on their own fortunes....
For users who value financial privacy, cryptocurrencies have always been extremely relevant alternatives. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have their origin story deep-rooted in this core ideal, clubbed...
For many cryptocurrency users, privacy continues to remain a high priority. Popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin enable users to not just benefit from a more secure form...
Bitcoin’s price plunged on the charts yet again, with the same falling by over $500 in a span of 20 hours. Owing to the high correlation...
Bitcoin has come a long way since its inception. While there are concerns regarding Bitcoin having strayed away from its original ideals, in comparison to traditional...
