MOSCOW: Despite the fact that now there is little evidence that Bitcoins are used in terrorism and drug trafficking, their turnover in five years will be “catastrophic,” Buyanov said.
“Over the past two years, drug smugglers in Russia used Bitcoins 20 times more,” FDCS Operational Search Department deputy head Dmitry Buyanov said.
Bitcoin, a popular virtual web-based currency introduced in 2009, can be used to purchase goods and services from online retailers.
Unlike traditional currencies, bitcoin has no material form and global currency regulation does not apply to it. An unlimited number of anonymous sources can issue and use the cryptocurrency.
Russian law bans the issuance of any currency not approved by the Central Bank of Russia.
