The theme of cryptocurrency it is still the subject of considerable controversy. If on the one hand there are those who consider digital assets a possible answer in terms of democratization to the concentration of financial wealth and praise their usefulness for online transactions, on the other hand the group of detractors of virtual currencies continues to be nourished. A group in which many names of traditional finance stand out, such as Warren Buffett or, to stay in Italy, Davide Serra, the founder of Algebris, the toughest ever against Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency, indicated as a real laundry for dirty capital.
This is precisely why it has aroused some interest study recently issued by the Guardia di Finanza aimed in particular at warning about the possible risks linked to the spread of virtual currencies.
The study of the Guardia di Finanza presented in Verona
According to the Guardia di Finanza there are four types of risks that would characterize cryptocurrencies: financial, monetary, criminal and law enforcement. To say it is study presented in Verona, at the Palazzo della Gran Guardia, which also served as a base for one communication issued by the FIU, Financial Information Unit for our country of the Bank of Italy and has found the authoritative endorsement of the judicial authorities.
The starting point of the report is the finding that the tech it is neutral, but its use is not. So if on the one hand it can act as a basis for creating opportunities for development and investment, on the other however, it must be controlled in order to guarantee investors. In particular, from the criminal risk that can leverage the use of digital assets in order to finance not only attempts to defraud users, but also the formation of a black market and money laundering and terrorism activities. Not to mention the high possibility of speculative bubbles that could be reflected in the banking system and the global economic system.
Dangers that GdF itself claims it cannot fight if not in a framework of maximum collaboration, in particular by giving life to supranational bodies specialized in contrasting phenomena of this kind.
The study seminar which culminated in the presentation of the report also saw the participation of Massimiliano Sala, ordinary of mathematics in Trento and director of the association De Componendis Cifris, a sort of pensieve that brings together about 700 members of professors, researchers and public and private experts. Just he wanted to remember how virtual currencies could represent a system capable of guaranteeing access to finance by those who see other possible avenues precluded. The alternatives in this sense, however, can lead to very different results: if a self-created cryptocurrency and the transactions entrusted to a server involve the risk of dishonest administrators, users ready to take advantage of authentication errors of cyber attacks aimed at emptying it, relying on a blockchain could instead give adequate guarantees to those who want privacy on digital identity and related to the impossibility of altering the contents.
The role of the judiciary
The fears highlighted by the Guardia di Finanza were then shared by the judiciary, through the mouth of Antonella Magaraggia, president of the court of Verona, according to which the anonymity that characterizes the transactions that see virtual coins as protagonists would amplify the dangers that they could be used for illicit purposes. Another sore point highlighted by his intervention is then that relating to the fact that digital assets, compared to ordinary currencies, would be less susceptible to confiscation by law enforcement agencies and therefore more difficult to submit to the normal activity of contrasting illegal practices.
To his intervention was then added that of Eugenio Fusco, deputy prosecutor in Milan, who highlighted the constant and intense growth of IT crimes in Italy, with a rise of 318% in 2018 compared to the data recorded a year earlier. A trend favored by the fact that Italian companies continue to underestimate the issue of digital security, investing just 1,5% in cybersecurity.
