A new study has found that criminals who use cryptocurrencies to commit crimes are likely to face severe punishment in Australian courts.
The study, titled “Crime and Cryptocurrency in Australian Courts,” published July 18 in the Monash University Law Review, found that the use of cryptocurrencies in criminal activity was seen as a sign of increased “degree of planning” and sophistication, leading to The court “consider ordinary detention above other sentencing purposes.”
“Acquiring and using cryptocurrency for payments requires more technical skill than the general population who may be unfamiliar with these payments.”
The study analyzed 103 cases presented in Australian courts between 2009 and 2020, with a specific focus on 59 criminal cases and their sentencing procedures.
not so sophisticated
The study authors, Dr Aaron Lane and Dr Lisan Adam, found that Australian courts widely regard crypto use as a sign of “technical sophistication” and “deliberate ambiguity”.
However, the pair argued that Australian courts may be “too eager to adopt a relatively simplified characterization” of crypto use in criminal activities, arguing that not all crypto use may indicate the same level of sophistication.
“Sophistication exists on a spectrum.”
Courts must be able to differentiate between the different types of crypto transactions used by criminals, especially as the widespread adoption of digital assets continues.
Criminals who use centralized digital currency exchanges – where KYC requirements mean identities can be easily obtained – may not be treated the same way as criminals who knowingly use anonymous non-custodial wallets or transactions. Combine services to obscure the data.
Cryptocurrencies and digital assets have a long-standing reputation as being associated with illegal activity by some in the public sphere, most likely stemming from bitcoin’s initial association with the notorious darknet black market Silk Road.
While this negative association still dominates the digital asset industry, the amount of crypto used for illegal activities has never decreased according to a recent report by CipherTrace.
The report estimated that illicit activity accounted for between 0.62% and 0.65% of total cryptocurrency activity in 2020, and has since fallen to between 0.10% and 0.15% of overall activity in 2021.
