A guide to money laundering

Is this control desirable? Improvements to the transparency and traceability of assets need be balanced against the individual's right to privacy. As we're seeing with other aspects of our personal data, technological innovation usually outpaces the law and we're only now starting to see policy makers respond to the threats and opportunities that ubiquitous data sharing brings. Bitcoin is, in many ways, an antithesis to traceability. It was invented in 2008 in the wake of the financial crisis as a means of reducing our reliance on financial institutions. It allows online payments to be made between individuals without intermediaries, but also without the checks and oversight that our financial regulatory framework brings. While Bitcoin has been a magnet for cybercriminals, it's exciting to see the technical community respond with a plethora of innovations, which aim to both counter illegal activities and improve the efficiency and transparency of trade. As a consequence, we will need to be ready for the debate over how much oversight we are willing to accept over our day-to-day transactions. © 2020 Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.