Many people believe that cryptocurrencies are mainly used for dark web transactions, and are a godsend to drug traffickers, money launderers and terrorists. European Unioncommissioners and law enforcers counter this claim, however, and say that most of their AML and KYC legislation is directed at cash transactions, as digital currencies are much easier to trace.

As if to substantiate this claim, a woman was just convicted in Denmark for ordering a hit on her former boyfriend – and paying in Bitcoin! The digital wallet was produced in court as evidence, thereby disproving the misconception that cyber currency transactions are untraceable. The woman, an Italian who will be forcibly expatriated from Denmark after completing her jail time, was sentenced to only six years, as the hit was never carried out.

The murder for hire transaction involved the transfer of only 4.1 Bitcoin (then valued at approximately $4,000 at the time) into the hitman's digital wallet, suggesting that even small amounts can be monitored. Although the European Union may disagree, the UK treasury is concerned that criminals may turn increasingly towards the expanded use of digital currencies to facilitate cybercrime, enabling more transactions such as this hit to be commissioned.