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Should Your Clients' Involvement With Cryptocurrency Scare You?

By Ross Benson and Robert N. Driscoll
May 01, 2021

Cryptocurrency, and its most-noted asset Bitcoin, has been breaking into the mainstream press. While most lawyers have heard terms like "blockchain" and probably even know a few people who have been deeply interested in the world of cryptocurrency, far more of us have at best a vague understanding of crypto markets and how crypto is acquired, traded and converted to everyday dollars (or fiat currency). Given that the price of a Bitcoin is up over 750% since April 2020 and approximately $56,000 per coin at the time of writing, the incentive to pay attention has increased. What was once thought to be a solely a niche product is becoming more widely accepted, as evidenced by an recent article in Forbes estimating that 10% of stimulus funds, or $40 Billion, will be used to purchase Bitcoin.

Given this rapid expansion of interest and participation in cryptocurrency transactions, it's not a matter of whether you have an interest in crypto, think it's all a bizarre techno-bubble, the eventual replacement for fiat currency, or somewhere in between. The fact of the matter is your clients, and future clients, are more likely than ever to have a connection to this market, and a brief review of the headlines can make this prospect seem terrifying.

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Federal Prosecutorial Activity

Type "Bitcoin" into the search bar on the United States Department of Justice website, and you come up with over 800 hits, a scan of which will be heartburn-inducing for criminal defense lawyers. "Money laundering," "child exploitation," "terrorist financing," "dark web," "narcotics," and "Ponzi scheme" are all terms you will encounter in the first few pages of results. Click through to the press releases of various arrests, prosecutions, and plea bargains, and it becomes clear that there are some criminal elements, particularly abroad, that have an affinity for using cryptocurrency in attempts to transact illicit business.

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