A 33-year-old barber with no criminal record shocked a town in Brazil when he detonated a "home-made" explosive device in a supermarket. Unfortunately, two people were badly injured in the blast which included a 7-year-old child. Police searched the barber’s home and discovered materials used to manufacture explosives and equipment used for remote detonation. It is believed that the man had meticulously planned the crime and had been studying how to make explosives for 15 years.

The situation had gotten more serious when the attacker allegedly contacted the store’s customer service demanding a Bitcoin ransom of around $61,000. After the store refused to pay, the bomber detonated the explosive device. Police have since explained that the suspect had stated he was a member of an organization that performs violent acts and would continue on his rampage if his demands weren’t met. According to the police report, the individual had planned to use a coin mixer to throw investigators off his scent of the ransom.

Although the perpetrator of this crime is in police custody, this isn’t the first time a malicious actor has leveraged cryptocurrency for their own gain. Last month, police arrested a group of individuals that were running a sextortion operation. The group had obtained intimate photos and videos of their victims and threatened to release them publicly if payments weren’t made in cryptocurrency.

The use of cryptocurrencies to fund malicious acts is a growing concern as it enables financial privacy and anonymity for criminal behaviour. This makes it nearly impossible for governments or law enforcement to trace funds which can make it difficult to crack down on these kinds of incidents. Therefore it is increasingly important for governments across the globe to enact policies to reduce the use of cryptocurrency for criminal activities.

Financial surveillance tools have been developed over the years to help identify illicit behaviour, however, the recent surge of digital assets and the rise of privacy-focused cryptos no doubt present a challenge to the traditional anti-fraud and money laundering systems. Therefore government and regulatory bodies must continue to collaborate with crypto organisations and industry leaders to create technologies to prevent further criminal use of cryptocurrency.



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