BANK OF ITALY PUBLISHES REPORT ON BITCOIN:

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The Bank of Italy has published a report on Bitcoin, labeling some of its peer-to-peer (P2P) services as potential "crime-as-a-service" platforms.

This classification is primarily due to the pseudonymous nature of Bitcoin transactions, which can facilitate illicit activities like money laundering.

The report highlights that Bitcoin's P2P services are not inherently criminal, but their anonymity features can be exploited by individuals seeking to obscure illegal financial activities.

The Bank of Italy is particularly concerned about the use of unregulated platforms, often operating without adequate oversight, in countries with weak anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

Some of the techniques used by criminals to evade detection include:

Mixers and Tumblers: Combining various users' funds to disguise the original source.

Chain-Hopping: Transferring funds between different blockchains to confuse tracking systems.

Anonymous Wallets: Hiding users' IP addresses to further complicate tracking.

In response to these challenges, the Bank of Italy is calling for stricter regulations to combat the growing misuse of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

This includes enforcing more stringent KYC and AML measures to ensure that individuals engaging in cryptocurrency transactions are properly vetted.