Debate over the Use of Cryptocurrencies in Illegal Activities Resurfaces

Once again, cryptocurrency took center stage in today’s news with the United States government seizing a ransom paid in Bitcoin, which also came under new scrutiny by authorities in the United Kingdom.

The U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly recovered $2.3 million worth of cryptocurrency that was paid as a ransom for the recent cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline.

The ransom attack, which affected the large pipeline responsible for providing nearly half of gasoline supplies to the east coast, is believed to be the biggest on record in the U.S.

Investigators seized about 63.7 Bitcoins that were paid by Colonial Pipeline Company for the hackers that caused disruption in the U.S. fuel supply chain, according to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

Meanwhile, British police forces are said to be pressuring for more barriers that would make it harder for the criminals to use crypto assets.

Scotland Yard are reportedly asking for the ability to freeze such assets, if possessed by criminals, in a way similar to conventional money transfers.

The calls echo previous calls for regulators to intervene in the assuring cryptocurrencies are not used in criminal activities.

Bitcoin, which is the world’s largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, and other digital currencies are traded without the control of supervision of central banks and market authorities.

Bitcoin has dropped by about 9% over the past 24 hours, reaching $33,540.

Similarly, Ethereum is down by more than 7% at $2,586.11, while Dogecoin plummeted by 9.8% to $0.3368.

Last week, cryptocurrencies were negatively impacted by new measurements imposed by Chinese authorities to combat financial risks.