The use of crypto for pictures of child abuse doubles every year, says Watchdog

According to a charity that combats criminal online content, the number of websites that accept cryptocurrency as a payment for material for the sexual abuse of children (CSA) has been more than doubled every year since 2018.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IMF) identified 250,000 websites last year with content on the sexual abuse of children, of whom more than 1,000 users made it possible to buy material with cryptocurrencies. This is an increase of 81 in 2018.

Based on IMF data, the number will increase this year despite the collapse of crypto prices, if not so strongly.

cryptocurrencies have become a preferred payment method for illegal activities because they offer both criminals and their networks anonymity. They are often used to act with drugs, act and pay for illegal content.

detective Inspector Darren Young from the online unit for sexual abuse and exploitation of children from the London Metropolitan Police said that crypto was used to pay Csam because the perpetrators believe that they can "hide behind the anonymity of these virtual currencies".

"predominantly all payments we see for the trade in material for the sexual abuse of children or the reputation of abuse of children in other parts of the world via live stream are paid for by crypto," he said.

The figures of the IMF come from a time when global supervisory authorities struggle to act against the illegal dark side of the industry, which often crosses borders.

"If you use your credit card data, it is of course pretty easy for us. Krypto because you can use different platforms all over the world.. Everything is becoming more problematic," added Young.

The increase in websites that accept crypto payments for CSAM together with the market house of the past year, in which the increasing popularity of digital assets drove prices at record heights. "The fact [Crypto] has so normalized this perfect storm. People now trust cryptocurrency, it is no longer this niche," said Chris Hughes, director of the IMF hotline.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a non-profit organization financed by the US government, received 29.3 million reports on alleged sexual exploitation of children last year, an increase of 35 percent compared to 2020.

During the proportion of websites that accept crypto payments, the increase in the number of websites that do this has caused the IMF to set up a "crypto unit" that is devoted to combating the trend.

"Our task is to record as many details as possible as possible as possible, then we pass on this information with our virtual currency warnings to our members and law enforcement partners," said a member of the IMF crypto unit, which asked to remain anonymous.

The IMF works with its more than 175 members to combat pictures of the sexual abuse of children that are shared online, including Amazon, Apple and the well-known crypto platform Coinbase. In March 2022, Brian Armstrong, headed by Brian Armstrong, carried out a study in which around 6,900 individual user accounts were identified that were suspected of being connected to CSA's, human trafficking or modern slavery activities. The stock exchange passed these accounts on to law enforcement authorities.

According to the IMF data, more than 50 percent of the cryptocurrency payments in Bitcoin took place in 2022. Other popular cryptocurrencies used for transactions with criminal content were Ethereum and Dogecoin.

"I think the fact that the volume grows or that we can at least uncover and recognize it clearly shows that it works for those who earn money, because if you don't earn any money, why should you take the risk?" Said Hughes.