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HughPickens.com writes:

In the old days, criminals liked their ransom payments in briefcases full of unmarked bills. But the NYT reports that now criminals prefer Bitcoin because it can be held in a digital wallet that does not have to be registered with any government or financial authority — and because it can be easily exchanged for real money. "The criminal underground very much likes Bitcoin," says Curt Wilson. "It's enabled a greater sense of obfuscation." The latest reminder of Bitcoin's underbelly came last week with the arrest of two Florida men for running an underground Bitcoin exchange where ransom victims could buy Bitcoins to pay the ransom demanded by the malware. The complaint suggested that the criminals also used the site to launder their proceeds. In total, between approximately October 2013 and January 2015, Coin.mx exchanged at least $1.8 million for Bitcoins on behalf of tens of thousands of customers. The operators sought to trick the major financial institutions through which they operated into believing that their unlawful Bitcoin exchange business was simply a members-only association of individuals who discussed, bought, and sold collectable items, such as sports memorabilia.

Some leaders in the Bitcoin community have suggested potential ways to fend off the ransom threats, digitally marking any coins used for ransom payments, similar to how dollar bills used in hostage situations are marked with invisible dye. But such solutions have been held up because of the value that many Bitcoin believers have put in the virtual currency's unfettered free movement.

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