The Internal Services Revenue (IRS) is worrying about Telegram's end-to-end encrypted over-the-counter cryptocurrency chats that could be used by bad actors to launder money, Decrypt has learned. Special agent of the IRS's Cyber Crimes Unit, Chris Janczewski, says that peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms open doors for bad actors to quickly shift dirty money.
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Janczewski even doubts that decentralized protocols like ShapeShift are as big of a threat as P2P exchanges. He also added that there is often a "network of people that want to convert crypto into fiat" on these P2P platforms. Janczewski notes that buyers are often based in China.
"They will often have blanket access to the banking system. You can move $100 million to the bank—but they won’t let you exchange $100 million on an exchange," he added.
The IRS' closer attention to Telegram comes after the US Treasury included a proposal to track cryptocurrency transactions over $10,000 for reporting to the IRS in Biden IRS enforcement plan. The watchdog believes that the measure is necessary in order to "minimize the incentives and opportunity to shift income out of the new information reporting regime."
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