In the future, it will be possible to disclose the identity of persons who conduct transactions through the encrypted currency, which is supposed to be anonymous, according to an expert in encrypted currencies.
Although many users of encrypted currencies prefer not to be identified, especially when used in dark web transactions, but with the technological advancements and tools used by law enforcement agencies, all this means that this confidentiality is not guaranteed forever , The Cambridge University economist tells Business Insider.
"It was like taking a blood sample from Lance Armstrong in 2005," Hillman said. "At the time, there was no way to test the type of drug he used, but by keeping it we can know it retroactively."
Bitcoin has risen this year to more than 1000% against the dollar so far, and this has led to increased interest by investors and financial managers. European and British authorities are planning to crack down on Bitcoin as concerns mount that encrypted currencies are used to facilitate financial crimes and money laundering.
In Egypt, on June 3, a dentist was arrested who "runs a Bitcoin trading network against the dollar and the euro". In Algeria, the Finance Act of 2018 prohibited the circulation of the virtual currency "Petcin" , Warning its users of the penalties provided by law.
These are able to reveal the identity of dealers
Because block chain transactions are recorded, future law enforcement officials may be able to return to disclose sales details and users, even if they do not currently have the tools to do so.
"We'll see a lot of that," Hillman said. "Everything that can be done can be eliminated."
Says Hillman, Bitcoin has already proven that it is not completely unknown as many people initially thought. As a result, some alternative coded currencies, such as the Monero Monroe, took Bitcoin's place on the dark internet. With the development of privacy technology constantly, the presence of services to wash encrypted currencies reduces their traceability.
But Helman says the encryption that supports these systems "has never been proven mathematically safe, but has not been hacked yet."
It was difficult to predict when these algorithms could be broken, he said, and he would not necessarily be tomorrow. "The solution is to keep those records, and then we do what we did with Lance Armstrong."