When Bitcoin is in the news, the topic usually centers on trading endeavors. People either end up with profits or losses while trading. So, the reported Bitcoin news is best described as “business as usual”. And then there is news along the lines of the Darknet bust. This is one of the more salacious tales associated with Bitcoin to hit the press in some time. Roughly 340,000 Euros in Bitcoin form were recovered in the Darknet bust.

Darknet has been a venue in which people move things on the black market. German authorities have been keeping tabs on activities taking place on Darknet due to contraband trafficking. In particular, some have used Darknet as a means of selling drugs. Recently, four people were arrested under suspicion of selling drugs through Darknet. One of those individuals has in possession of Bitcoin worth the aforementioned 340,000 Euros.

Bitcoin, for those who do not keep up with tech news, is a form of digital currency. People like to purchase Bitcoin to engage in buying and selling because the crypto-currency is easy to use, accepted by many online venders, and can be accessed from anywhere at anytime. Bitcoin also can increase in value. Those who procure Bitcoin frequently do so for investment purposes. Dynamic trading is even done with Bitcoin. The digital currency may be bought, sold, and traded with maximum privacy. Sadly, the privacy component is one thing that makes it preferable to those doing things illegally.

The Darknet bust has the potential to cast Bitcoin in an unflattering light. This is unfortunate since Bitcoin is used by millions of people for honest purposes all the time. Some have even made huge profits trading honestly in Bitcoin.

A lot of people are going to learn about Bitcoin for the first time reading about the Darknet raid and bust. This ends up leaving an unflattering image in the mind of those who lacked any previous familiarity with Bitcoin before. Businesses hoping to expand their customer base by accepting Bitcoin may end up being a bit concerned about any negative image surrounding the digital currency. Fair or not, this is just how things work out at times.

The “deep web” is a name given to the realm in which vendors and customers seek to engage in secretive transactions. Distributing drugs through the deep web can prove to be lucrative for criminals who wish to engage in these activities. A common misconception among those who do is their transactions are impossible to trace. Law enforcement authorities have proven time and time again, this is not the case. There is always some way to trace transactions although the process may be time-consuming and cumbersome.

Transfers through Bitcoin, however, may be easier to trace. Bitcoin definitely enhances privacy for users, but law enforcement has ways of tracking Bitcoin transactions down to the person(s) sending or receiving funds. During the Darknet drug raid on the four individuals, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and other drugs were recovered. These were tangible assets. Some may wonder how the Bitcoin currency could be found in a wallet if it is digital currency. The answer is found in a more accurate description of the word “wallet”.

In Bitcoin parlance, a wallet does not refer to the accessory one keeps in a pocket. Instead, wallet refers to a software program that is the gateway to where Bitcoin funds are kept. The more secure the wallet is, the harder it becomes for hackers to break into the wallet and steal funds. The program may be stored on a computer or a smartphone. During the raid, the wallet with the 340,000 EUR was apparently found on the hard drive of a computer seized during the raid.

Bitcoin was not the only form of funds found during the raid. Hard cash was located and recovered as well.

Bitcoin did garner some bad publicity from this raid, which is unfortunate. Bitcoin, itself, has nothing to do with those who are using the crypto-currency. Bitcoin simply creates a valuable asset traded in place of currency. Regardless of the bad publicity, Bitcoin won’t be harmed too much. The story is sure to fade away in time and be replaced by more mundane tales of basic Bitcoin trading.