EUIPO: Bitcoin is one of the two major threats to anti-piracy efforts

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) recently said that Bitcoin and Tor can be used to “hide the proceeds of crime,” which hinders the agency’s anti-piracy work.

Bitcoin Hinders EU's Anti-Piracy Efforts

The EUIPO recently announced that they are joining forces with Europol to launch a new anti-piracy effort, with Bitcoin and the Tor network being two of the main threats to the anti-piracy effort.

A report published by EUIPO mentions 25 different business models.

The report describes a vast “shadow landscape” that “increasingly relies on new encryption technologies, such as the TOR browser and virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, which are used to infringe intellectual property, generate illicit revenue, and hide criminal proceeds,” the report said.

Business Models Using Tor and Bitcoin

Almost every one of the 25 illegal business models used TOR to some degree, while Bitcoin was only involved in half of them (strictly speaking, some of them only accepted Bitcoin donations).

The report introduces Bitcoin and mentions it more than 50 times. Some of these sites simply accept Bitcoin donations, while others are as bold as dark web weapons markets. Content paywalls and counterfeit goods markets are other major examples.

Why Bitcoin is a 'threat'

The report said the inherent threat of Bitcoin is that its transactions cannot be easily connected to individuals in the real world, a problem that is bad for the EUIPO.

“There is no public record of the connection between Bitcoin wallet IDs and personal information,” the report explains, “because these Bitcoin transactions are considered semi-anonymous.”

The research behind the report, and the new Intellectual Property Crime Coordination Consortium (IP3C), was launched by EUIPO and Europol earlier this month to more effectively address these “threats.” EUIPO claims that “the research will provide greater insight for policymakers, civil society and the private sector.”

The EUIPO made it clear that they are watching this trend closely since the job of fighting piracy is becoming increasingly difficult. Since many business models mentioned Bitcoin in the report, the report may confirm the long-standing view that "Bitcoin does provide better anonymity than traditional currencies."