The Bank of Italy recognizes 'Bitcoin P2P as a crime service,' netizens retort: 'Banks are the biggest money laundering offenders.'

According to foreign media (Atlas21), the Bank of Italy has classified Bitcoin P2P (peer-to-peer) services as a form of 'crime-as-a-service' in the latest issue (No. 893) of its economic and financial research report. (Background: Italy plans to raise capital gains tax on Bitcoin 'to 42%', could the local market collapse?) (Background information: Current state of cryptocurrency in China: P2P bypassing bans, secret mining operations, CBDC cutting off alternatives?) According to foreign media (Atlas21), the Bank of Italy has classified Bitcoin P2P (peer-to-peer) services as a form of 'crime-as-a-service' in the latest issue (No. 893) of its economic and financial research report. P2P services are suspected of assisting money laundering. The Bank of Italy believes that P2P services can help individuals conceal the sources of illegal funds, especially on platforms that do not require KYC (Know Your Customer), such as the website kycnot.me, making it difficult for regulators and law enforcement to identify criminals. The Bank of Italy stated in the document: Money launderers tend to operate in countries or regions that the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) considers high-risk, or that lack anti-money laundering legislation. At the same time, the Bank of Italy specifically mentioned the Satoshi Spritz event, which was originally a public gathering allowing participants to use Bitcoin to exchange for goods, services, or fiat currency, but the Bank of Italy also classified the P2P activities in this event as potentially criminal. Blockchain technology is not immune to crime. The Bank of Italy also emphasized that while blockchain technology itself has transparency, it does not eliminate criminal activities: Cryptocurrency transactions are immutable on public ledgers, but their anonymity means that wallet addresses cannot be linked to personal identities unless through external verification. In addition to using P2P transactions to launder money by avoiding KYC, the Bank of Italy pointed out other methods of money laundering using blockchain technology, including: Mixers: This tool mixes funds from multiple users to obscure ownership, making tracking difficult. Cross-chain: Bridging cryptocurrencies to different blockchains through smart contracts or cross-chain bridges also complicates the source of funds. Anonymous wallets: These wallets can hide IP addresses and sever connections between different transactions. Internet users: You might as well just ban the internet altogether. Overall, the report particularly focuses on malicious activities related to blockchain while ignoring its core idea of decentralization, leading many netizens to oppose or criticize the report. They argue that the very birth of blockchain technology was to combat the shortcomings of traditional financial institutions such as banks; the technology itself is not wrong, but it is those who use it for crime that are. If this service is labeled as a crime service, then the internet should be banned as well, as more people are using the internet to commit crimes. Additionally, some netizens pointed out that banks are not actually concerned about criminals; what they want is regulation over everyone. They seek to control people's freedom and behavior. Some even claimed that official banking systems often engage in large-scale money laundering activities using euros and dollars... Related reports: Over 30 blockchain communities sign anti-fraud and money laundering memorandum, Taiwan Blockchain University Alliance holds educational forum. The Taiwan Virtual Currency Association releases self-regulatory guidelines, covering anti-money laundering, customer protection points, and more (VASP). Coinbase CEO criticizes anti-money laundering policies as ineffective: Spending $213 billion annually only stops 0.2% of illegal activities, harming legitimate users. 'The Bank of Italy recognizes Bitcoin P2P as a crime service,' netizens retort: 'Banks are the biggest money laundering offenders.' This article was first published on BlockTempo (the most influential blockchain news media).