In a Miami money-laundering case that is being closely watched around the world, an economics professor took to the witness stand Friday to offer a tutorial on the widely known, if poorly understood, virtual currency known as Bitcoin.The takeaway: Bitcoin isn’t really money, professor Charles Evans said.No central government or bank backs Bitcoin, like the United States does the dollar.Government regulation of Bitcoin remains a messy hodgepodge from state to state, country to country.The IRS considers Bitcoin deals no more than bartering, he said.“Basically, it’s poker chips that people are willing to buy from you,” said Evans, a Barry University economics professor who, yes, was paid $3,000 worth of Bitcoins for his appearance as a defense witness.Attorney Frank Andrew Prieto held up a 1966 U.S.“Is Bitcoin an actual coin?” “In a sense of a physical piece of base metal?” Evans said.“No.” The hearing unfolded in the case of Michell Espinoza, who is accused of illegally selling and laundering $1,500 worth of Bitcoins to undercover detectives who claimed they wanted to use them to buy stolen credit card numbers.

His lawyers, Prieto and Rene Palomino, are asking a court to dismiss the case against him, arguing that Bitcoin isn’t technically money under Florida law so laundering charges don’t apply.Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Pooler won’t decide for a few more weeks, but listened intently Friday, peppering Evans with questions and asking for more time to research.“This is the most fascinating thing I’ve heard in this courtroom in a long time,” Pooler said.bitcoin huf chartThe prosecution of Espinoza is being watched closely, especially in financial and tech circles, because it is believed to be the first money-laundering case against someone for dealing in Bitcoins.bitcoin hedge fund maltaAs the currency has gained in popularity, law enforcement has struggled to figure out how it fits into illegal activities.gps65 bitcoin

The controversial virtual currency allows some users to spend money anonymously, and can also be bought and sold on exchanges with U.S.dollars and other currencies.The virtual currency has gained popularity with merchants selling legitimate goods and services.In Miami, there are a few restaurants that accept the virtual currency, and so does a plastic surgeon, which means someone can get a Bitcoin butt lift.zennon kapron bitcoinRegulated services such as CoinBank, which operates similar to PayPal, allow people to buy, sell and use the Bitcoins.bitcoin inne walutyBut authorities have raised concerns about the currency being used in the anonymous black market.bitcoin inheritanceMost notoriously, Bitcoins were used to traffic drugs in the now shuttered Silk Road network.

In an unrelated South Florida case, a Miramar man got 10 years in prison after using Bitcoins to buy Chinese-made synthetic heroin from a Canadian prisoner.In the Miami case, prosecutors said that Espinoza — who used the moniker MichellHack — illegally sold undercover investigators $1,500 in Bitcoins.Espinoza, 32, designs websites for businesses., and told him they were going to use the currency to purchase stolen credit card numbers.The detectives met with Espinoza three times in person: on Lincoln Road, at an ice-cream shop and at a hotel room.Espinoza was arrested along with another man, Pascal Reid, who pleaded guilty to acting as an unlicensed money broker and was sentenced to probation.Under his unusual plea deal, he agreed to teach law enforcement about Bitcoin.Evans was the one doing the teaching in court on Friday. boom to the rise in Bitcoins several years ago.He also runs a nonprofit called Conscious Entrepreneurship Foundation, aimed at helping small businesses in developing countries.

Indeed, Bitcoin use is increasing in places such as Africa, where the “banking system is broken,” Evans said.He also said the market for Bitcoin can vary — on Friday, one Bitcoin was worth $473.He likened Bitcoin worth to how collectors assign values to baseball cards, or comic books.Prosecutor Tom Haggerty, trying to show that Bitcoins are essentially the same as cash, pointed out that Bitcoins can now be used at some restaurants.“You don’t purchase a hamburger with a comic book,” Haggerty said.“You usually purchase it with cash, or in this case, a Bitcoin.”A lot of people have an opinion about Bitcoin as something shady, something for the criminals.Where has this come from?Is BTC a tool used by ISIS?Let’s have a look at some arguments and facts on this topic.Many of you know what was all about.If you don’t here’s a brief description.Silk Road was essentially an Ebay for criminals.It was an online marketplace mainly for dealing drugs but on top of that you could also purchase guns, hire a hitman and anything else you might need for your supervillain plans.

Silk Road used Bitcoin as a payment system.Mainly because of Bitcoin’s anonymity but as you know, Bitcoin isn’t really anonymous, quite the opposite in fact.Hence the guys who didn’t spend enough effort into hiding their trails got caught.Silk Road was closed down in October 2013 by the FBI and its founder Ross William Ulbricht is serving life in prison without parole.Ironically an also stole $700 000 worth of Bitcoin during the investigation.The agent, Carl Force is facing 20 years in prison for various charges.Because of Bitcoin’s pseudo-anonymous properties a lot of countries and regulators are cautious of it and other cryptocurrencies.Some countries are monitoring it closely and some have even banned the use of Bitcoin.I can see the reasoning behind these actions – they would not want another Silk Road.I understand the need for monitoring certain funding options however stopping a new currency because of the fear of crime and terrorism is a little bit short sighted.Luckily this opinion is starting to shift.

As Bitcoin becomes more and more popular exchanges and other fintech companies like HitBTC work hard to follow Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer regulations just as banks have to.hard and takes great pride in it.Because Bitcoin is a rather new and exciting thing and also because of its pseudo anonymous qualities it will naturally attract the attention of people with shady intentions.Criminals may find this a great way for moving funds – fast and your name will not be attached to the transaction.They will need to do some serious juggling of the funds though as all of the transactions will be written in blockchain so if they are not careful that might actually work against them.That aside I am sure there’s a huge amount of criminal masterminds who will use Bitcoin without trace.There has been a lot of interesting studies on this topic.And yes these studies have found links between Bitcoin and criminal activities.Previous research has pointed to the three key reasons people might be using Bitcoin: curiosity, profit making and politics.

Based on these observations, the researchers created four potential user groups for the cryptocurrency: tech enthusiasts, investors, anti-establishment types, who might want an alternative to mainstream banking, and criminals.Looking at the facts and stories shared above I can conclude – yes, Bitcoin is used for illegal activities.But then again so are all other payment options and assets.Money laundering is still a thing with all the other already established or “old” currencies.And cash might I remind you is totally anonymous.And yes I am sure a lot of criminal activities still go on with Bitcoin, however you cannot compare it to the scale of criminal stuff going on with fiat currencies, gold, diamonds or credit cards.Bitcoin by design actually stops some forms of crimes from happening.Credit card fraud for example cannot be possible with Bitcoin as the transactions are irreversible and you must make sure you know where you’re sending funds to.Also let’s remind that all of the transactions are recorded in the blockchain and can be traced.