Crypto payment for child pornography rose by 32% in 2019

The popularity of crypto payment for child pornography is rising, according to the data provided by Chainalysis. The use of cryptocurrencies to pay for child pornography increased by 32% during 2019 compared to 2018 was depicted by the data analyzed by the resource.

This rise has taken place following attempts by the authorities to curb this activity, which could be the case with the 2018 closing of Welcome to Stream, the world’s largest child exploitation network, which has generated over 420 Bitcoin throughout its successful three years of operation.

Crypto payment for child pornography, ETH or BTC

The usage of cryptocurrency such as Etherium or Bitcoin amongst perpetrators is such a piece of fantastic news for the law enforcement agencies. In contrast, users are not cautious enough to conceal their identities. Thus, it was simple for law enforcers to track the identity of the individuals participating in such illegal acts.

Although there may be specific privacy-centric cryptocurrencies that do mask the identities of consumers, it is not the case for Bitcoin and Etherium.

Funds originate from exchange sites

Almost all of the funds originate from exchange sites and, most of all, verify the identities of their customers, which makes it convenient for the authorities to identify criminals says, Chainalysis economist Nina Heyden.

“The good news to hear about this is that these trading and exchange sites also comply with law enforcement whenever homeland security demands further information during their investigations on cases such as Child pornography.”