地下毒品網絡覆滅有望助比特幣轉正

????聯邦投資者上周關閉了絲綢之路網（Silk Road），這家地下網站承載了一個價值數十億美元的毒品買賣黑市。2011年，紐約州民主黨參議員查爾斯?舒默和西弗吉尼亞州民主黨參議員喬?曼欽點名批評絲綢之路網，聲稱它充分證明了比特幣（Bitcoin）所有的陰暗面，該網站由此受到關注。過去一年，這種曾經籍籍無名的虛擬貨幣獲得了新聞媒體和監管機構等方面的廣泛關注。在絲綢之路網，所有交易均是以比特幣完成；兩位參議員擔心，被比特幣的匿名性吸引的恐怖分子和犯罪分子會使用這種貨幣進行非法交易。

????如果你相信聯邦調查人員的發現，你會發現他們說的沒錯。近期的打擊行動彰顯出與比特幣相關的幾件事情：其一，監督網絡犯罪或許非常困難，但實際上是可能的。任何一件發生在互聯網上的事情，勢必會浮現在現實世界之中。其次，于比特幣的投資者和企業家而言，絲綢之路的關閉不啻為一個警鐘——他們應該認真對待聯邦金融法規。但在這樣做的同時，比特幣有可能失去它最大的賣點之一——匿名性。

????追查絲綢之路并非易事——它是被一個名為TOR，允許用戶匿名在線交流的系統攔截的。比特幣為這家網站添加了一層額外的匿名性，但聯邦當局迅速跟進。在加拿大當局隨機截獲了一批指向舊金山一處地址的假身份證之后，聯邦調查局(FBI)逮捕了絲綢之路的頭號嫌犯，29歲的羅斯?威廉?烏布利希。

????這則消息引發了一波拋售狂潮，導致比特幣的價值大幅下跌。雖然這起事件可能會讓比特幣的信譽受損，但在一些企業家看來，對于這種貨幣來說，絲綢之路網的覆滅其實是好事一樁。他們聲稱，比特幣要想登堂入室，進入主流金融體系，它首先需要清洗自己陰暗的一面。

????比特幣具備吸引主流用戶的潛力。支持者聲稱，隨著在線交易日益增加，比特幣或將推動支付業務發生一場革命。這種貨幣也可以降低交易費用，緩解匯款傳輸系統的壓力。另一個頗具吸引力的地方在于，選擇比特幣作為支付媒介可以讓用戶保持匿名性。將來有一天，假設一家剛剛完成一筆大型并購交易的公司打算讓這個消息在幾天或幾周內處于保密狀態，公司高管們或許認為選擇比特幣進行交易是個好主意。

????問題是，比特幣的匿名性也對毒販產生了吸引力。據聯邦調查局透露，在不到三年的時間里，絲綢之路就促成了大約相當于12億美元的銷售額，斬獲了高達8,000萬美元的傭金。目前尚未償付的比特幣的總值超過15億美元，絲綢之路對于比特幣的重要程度由此可見一斑。

????與美元不同，比特幣和其他虛擬貨幣的背后不存在某家中央銀行；這個特征已吸引了許多用戶。盡管如此，比特幣依然在不斷演變。這種貨幣問世于2009年，由于支付行業面臨一些正常現金和商品交易也必須遵循的新法規，新玩家正在不斷涌入這個市場。比特幣正在靠近一個十字路口，大毒梟和大金融家之間的對立情緒必將進一步升級。

????Federal investors last week shut down Silk Road, an underground website that hosted a massive billion-dollar black market drug ring. The site gained attention in 2011 when Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) singled it out as an example of all that's shady about Bitcoin, the once-obscure virtual currency that's gained plenty of attention from news media and regulators over the past year. All deals on Silk Road were made in Bitcoin; the senators worried it would be used by terrorists and criminals attracted to the anonymity of the currency.

????They were right, if you believe what federal investigators found. The recent crackdown highlights a few things about Bitcoin: For one, it may be difficult to police Internet crimes, but it's indeed possible. Whatever happens online is bound to emerge in the real world. Secondly, Silk Road's shutdown should be a wake-up call for Bitcoin investors and entrepreneurs to take federal financial regulations seriously. But in doing so, Bitcoin could risk losing one of its biggest selling points: its anonymity.

????Silk Road wasn't easy to trace -- it was blocked by a system called TOR, which allowed users to communicate anonymously online. Bitcoin added an additional layer of anonymity to the website, but authorities caught on. The FBI arrested 29-year-old Ross William Ulbricht, Silk Road's alleged mastermind, after Canadian authorities randomly intercepted a package of fake I.D.s that were en route to his San Francisco address.

????The news has sparked a big sell-off, causing the value of Bitcoin to fall sharply. While that may set back the currency's credibility, some entrepreneurs actually take it as one of the best things to happen to the currency, arguing that before Bitcoin can enter the mainstream financial system, it will need to clean up its shady side.

????Bitcoin has the potential to attract mainstream users. Supporters say it could potentially revolutionize the payments business as more transactions take place online. Bitcoin could also lower transaction costs or ease the transmission of remittances. The fact that users can pay in Bitcoin and remain anonymous is also attractive. Say a company wants to keep a large acquisition private for a few days or weeks -- the idea is that one day executives could turn to bitcoins.

????The problem is the anonymity of Bitcoin is also what attracts thugs in the drug world. In less than three years, Silk Road generated the equivalent of roughly $1.2 billion in sales and $80 million in commissions, according to the FBI The total value of all outstanding bitcoins is currently more than $1.5 billion, so this gives a sense of how important Silk was to the Bitcoin economy.

????Unlike the U.S. Dollar, Bitcoin and other virtual currencies aren't backed by a central bank; that has attracted many users. Nonetheless, Bitcoin is evolving. It was created in 2009, and new players are continuously entering the market as the industry faces new regulations that regular cash and commodities must also follow. The currency is approaching a crossroads of sorts, further dividing drug lords and high financiers.