This study aims to explore the principle of the interdependence and mutual influence of the Dark web and cryptocurrency. Specifically, it explores the terms "the Dark web" and "cryptocurrency", as well as distinguishes cryptocurrency from normal currency. Furthermore, it establishes a connection between the Dark web and cryptocurrency. In order to reach the aim of this study, multiple sources of literature had been analyzed, including books and online articles. The analysis of literature shows that there is a strong correlation between the existence of the Dark web and demand on cryptocurrency. Thus, the results of this paper conclude that the Dark web and cryptocurrency exist in symbiosis - cryptocurrency allows the Dark web to exist for its anonymity and impunity, while the Dark web guarantees demand on cryptocurrency.
Money laundering has developed at the same pace, if not quicker, as the laws that were meant to restrain it. The advent of cryptocurrency escalated the century-long arms race between money launderers and regulators as cryptocurrencies shifted the frontline from the thoroughly governed, centralized financial sector to the (semi)anonymous, decentralized and unevenly regulated cryptocurrency domain. Recent reports indicate that cryptocurrency money laundering represents a problem of considerable proportions. Owing to the fast-paced development of the crypto ecosystem and the growing interconnectedness between cryptocurrency and the traditional financial sector, forward looking and future-proof solutions are a conditio sine qua non for safeguarding the integrity of financial markets. Moreover, as cryptocurrency holds the promise of an accessible and expeditious transaction system, it is imperative to disperse the criminal label attached to it and work towards improving credibility through calculated regulation. Although some progress has been achieved at the EU level, European cryptocurrency anti-money laundering (AML) regulation is still in its nascent stage. European legislators have touched upon the topic of cryptocurrency in AMLD V, leaving considerable space for improvement. The objective of this study is to assess the European Union’s approach to regulating cryptocurrencies from an AML perspective and propose ways forward.
Contrasted with the boundless enthusiasm on crypto-X is the intense scepticism that others have when it comes to Bitcoin. Many people do not accept that Bitcoin can have any value independent of the backing of a nation-state. They think it is a scam, a Ponzi, a bubble, a fad, and a con. And they think it is a dangerous destabiliser for the status quo. Some also see the goals or delusions of their political rivals reflected in Bitcoin advocacy. Libertarians and Trump supporters and goldbugs distrustful of the monetary system and seeking to decentralise it. Paul Krugman’s New York Times opinion pieces on cryptocurrency and Bitcoin and, most importantly, the hundreds of thousands of words of comments posted by his readers in response to his articles are an interesting window onto these issues, including the political divide that separates Bitcoin advocates and some of their critics.
The purpose of this paper is twofold: (i) to investigate some of the main issues surrounding the classification of digital currencies, and (ii) to identify the accounting practices and standards tied to digital currencies. This paper discusses two different types of digital currencies, including: central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and privately issued cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The findings of this study suggest that current accounting standards do not precisely cover the accounting treatment of digital currencies, even though the estimated value of market capitalisation of cryptocurrency in 2022 was USD 200 billion. This conceptual paper identifies the imminent need for an accounting standard to provide guidance on the identification, classification, measurement, and presentation of digital currencies. In the interim, existing accounting standards can be amended to incorporate digital currencies to avoid inconsistent global accounting approaches.
In the evolving landscape of international trade, this comprehensive exploration delves into the paradigm shift enabled by smart contracts, challenging the traditional role of Documentary Credits (LCs). By prioritizing transparency, the article showcases how the integration of smart contracts revolutionizes proforma invoicing submission and offers a robust mechanism for scrutinizing over and under-invoicing—an entrenched tactic in Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML). The innovative concept of introducing a bidding process within smart contracts opens doors for global participation, reducing entry barriers for startups and entrepreneurs, thereby transforming poverty into prosperity. These transformative mechanisms, rooted in blockchain technology, mark a compelling shift towards combatting TBML and fostering a more inclusive and dynamic global economy.
The primary objective of this research is to study the effectiveness of blockchain technology in preventing financial cybercrime. In this research, the researcher intends to know the effectiveness of blockchain technology in preventing financial cybercrime, the white-collar crime which is growing drastically globally. The researcher uses the primary method to collect the data. In this study, four different variables that influence financial cybercrime significantly are immutability, smart contract, distributed ledger technology and consensus algorithm. The data was collected from the targeted respondents which are accountants, IT experts and human resources. Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) is being utilized to evaluate the relationship between the four variables which able to influence financial cybercrime. A total of 70 survey questionnaires were delivered to the targeted respondents via a convenience sampling strategy. Responses from 70 participants were entered into SPSS one by one to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. Financial cybercrime is positively correlated with immutability, smart contract, distributed ledger technology and consensus algorithms. As a result, the analysis of the collected data for this research rejects the null hypothesis, while supporting the alternative hypothesis. The conclusion that can derive from this research is that users and organizations should be aware of the financial cybercrime risks that take place around them and the importance to have vital tools that are not vulnerable to malicious attacks. This research creates awareness for users and companies on the usage of blockchain to prevent financial cybercrime.
Smart contracts have led to more efficient development in finance and healthcare, but vulnerabilities in contracts pose high risks to their future applications. The current vulnerability detection methods for contracts are either based on fixed expert rules, which are inefficient, or rely on simplistic deep learning techniques that do not fully leverage contract semantic information. Therefore, there is ample room for improvement in terms of detection precision. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a vulnerability detector based on deep learning techniques, graph representation, and Transformer, called GRATDet . The method first performs swapping, insertion, and symbolization operations for contract functions, increasing the amount of small sample data. Each line of code is then treated as a basic semantic element, and information such as control and data relationships is extracted to construct a new representation in the form of a Line Graph (LG), which shows more structural features that differ from the serialized presentation of the contract. Finally, the node information and edge information of the graph are jointly learned using an improved Transformer–GP model to extract information globally and locally, and the fused features are used for vulnerability detection. The effectiveness of the method in reentrancy vulnerability detection is verified in experiments, where the F1 score reaches 95.16%, exceeding state-of-the-art methods.
This paper quantifies mainstream media coverage of Bitcoin to understand how a once niche interest entered public culture. From 2011 to 2022, five key narratives are identified as criminality, culture, politics, price and technology. Price, politics, and culture have become more prominent in coverage while the technology narrative has waned. Coverage that is more political or cultural is associated with subsequently lower returns whereas the criminality narrative is associated with higher returns. Together this suggests that as narratives have become more mainstream, they have created additional demand, despite the negative association with criminal activity.