Two Executives of Bitcoin Businesses Are Arrested

One of the most prominent players in the Bitcoin universe, Charles Shrem, was arrested on Sunday and accused of helping grease the wheels for drug transactions on the now defunct online bazaar Silk Road.

Mr. Shrem was the founder and chief executive of a popular website, Bitinstant, where Bitcoins could be bought using dollars. The criminal charges unsealed on Monday allege that Mr. Shrem used his company to convert money anonymously for people interested in buying narcotics on the Silk Road site, and also personally bought drugs on the site. He was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport.

The scheme was allegedly operated in cooperation with another man, Robert Faiella, known as BTCKing, who was arrested on Monday.

Two Executives of Bitcoin Businesses Are Arrested

The Fed starts their attack on the bitcoin? or just the obvious use of the cryptocoin in illegal activities
-----
businessinsider


-----
wired

I truly dont understand how people invest in this thing, it never will be stable and collapses will occur, china is no fool.

reply to post by Indigent

The Fed starts their attack on the bitcoin? or just the obvious use of the cryptocoin in illegal activities

Could be either -- I read an article on this earlier today, and it was pretty clear that the two were tacitly supporting Silk Road, while claiming that they weren't, trying to get around monitoring that would flag money laundering, and one of them was apparently caught buying illicit consumables.

So, if the Feds want to shut down Bitcoin (and I'm up in the air on whether that's the case,) these two dopes handed them the gasoline to start the fire with.

Could be these guys were "bought off" by a global banking organization.

They agree to "take the fall" and get acquitted or plea bargained out later.

The worldwide central banking system doesn't like competition.

They prefer to handle all money laundering on their terms.

reply to post by xuenchen


Maybe this will drop the prices out of fear and the fed buy a load cheap, why compete if you can control

They are going down because of their role in Silkroad and knowingly enabling drug deals. Only those backed by the alphabet can make billions in that game.

I think virtual currency is here to stay, the bitcoin is not the only one. While silkroad and the drug trade may have enabled the bitcoin to rise, I think it will ultimately fail and another virtual currency will take its place, perhaps several more.

I do have a few good ideas on my own type of virtual currency that I believe can thrive.

reply to post by jrod


If it fails a few people will make tons of millions and most that got into the bitcoin will lose all, that's the problem isn't it? at the end this stuff wont be any better than a trash stock. Me thinks

Maybe it's just because I just recently watched The Social Network, but I find it interesting that the Winklevoss Twins are associated with this company:

The BitInstant exchange, based in New York City, lets people buy bitcoins locally at more than 700,000 locations in the United States, as well as Brazil, Russia and elsewhere. It received a $1.5 million investment last year from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

money.cnn.com...

xuenchen
Could be these guys were "bought off" by a global banking organization.

They agree to "take the fall" and get acquitted or plea bargained out later.

The worldwide central banking system doesn't like competition.

They prefer to handle all money laundering on their terms.

Except drug dealing pyramid goes to CIA and Black Operations and invariably TPTB mafia network.

And there shouldn't be problems with this criminal.

So if they were involved, they were one of their own anyway.