Bitcoin Regulation? Imperfect Knowledge of Identities and the Money Laundering Risk: A West African Perspective

Abstract

Arguments for regulating Bitcoin are built mainly on the technologically disruptive nature of the currency and its susceptibility to facilitating financial crimes on a scale larger than financial institutions. This paper questions this notion and proposes instead that the disruptive nature of Bitcoin is not technological but legal. The legal disruption requires a legislative response aimed at ensuring suitable regulation that can circumvent the identity crises in Bitcoin transactions