The perfect currency for criminals

Gina Chon

It used to be that criminals could do no better than “a suitcase full of unmarked U.S. dollar bills,” said Gina Chon. But the Colonial Pipeline hack “shows the global currency of crime has a rival.” Last week, the fuel transport company paid $4.4 million in Bitcoin to the Russian cybercrime group DarkSide to regain access to their computer systems and get oil pumping again to the East Coast. The hackers’ demand was neither unprecedented nor surprising. Because “no personal information is needed to transfer or convert cryptocurrencies,” Bitcoin has long been the “go-to for ransom demands.” But in the past year, its rapid acceptance has made it even

more enticing for illicit activity, and “the market value of all Bitcoin in circulation” sits at nearly

$900 billion today. More home sellers, yacht dealers, auction houses, luxury carmakers, and even the Dallas Mavericks have begun accepting cryptocurrency. Bitcoin’s move “from the fringe to the conventional” gives regulators even more reason to step in. The new Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, Gary Gensler—who taught a course called “Blockchain and Money” at MIT—has signaled the need for “more regulations around crypto activities.” The latest ransom payment should add to the watchdogs’ sense of urgency.