http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ce...-arrested-2014-01-27?link=MW_home_latest_news Ties to drugs and crime.
The title of this thread is incredibly stupid. Bitcoin survived the SR arrest, this is small cookie. And by the way, is the Treasury responsible if you buy drugs with your dollars??? After all, they issued the money.... Seriously people...... [shaking head] Now instead of spreading FUD, The meat from the DoJ Report: "SHREM, who personally bought drugs on Silk Road, was fully aware that Silk Road was a drug-trafficking website, and through his communications with FAIELLA, SHREM also knew that FAIELLA was operating a Bitcoin exchange service for Silk Road users. Nevertheless, SHREM knowingly facilitated FAIELLA’s business with the Company in order to maintain FAIELLA’s business as a lucrative source of Company revenue. SHREM knowingly allowed FAIELLA to use the Company’s services to buy Bitcoins for his Silk Road customers; personally processed FAIELLA’s orders; gave FAIELLA discounts on his high-volume transactions; failed to file a single suspicious activity report with the United States Treasury Department about FAIELLA’s illicit activity, as he was otherwise required to do in his role as the Company’s Compliance Officer; and deliberately helped FAIELLA circumvent the Company’s AML restrictions, even though it was SHREM’s job to enforce them and even though the Company had registered with the Treasury Department as a money services business." In plain English: "These guys were selling bitcoins on Silk Road to Silk Road users, and one of them even bought drugs on the site. That's a completely different thing. They aren't really being charged for BitInstant, but rather for their "side gig" of selling bitcoins to druggies on Silk Road at a marked-up price."
I think anyone involved with the "Silk Road" may be in trouble. The feds have the owner who got caught because of his email address. They are charging him with some major shit like accomplice to murder for hire, money laundering etc. This guy is in deep shit and is probably pointing fingers to save his ass. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_(marketplace)
I don't see the crime in purchasing something legal and marking it up and re-selling it. This may be more likely the situation: They were likely using the Bitcoins to purchase the drugs on the wholesale market to reduce their chances of getting caught. In that manner, there is no paper trail of the purchases. I am sure the feds are looking into that next.
It's actually the opposite ! The FBI/FinCen Loves Bitcoin (they said this themselves), just because you can track & trace nearly everything. You should do some homework, before you write nonsense.
If anyone thinks that the issuers of currency are going to sit back and give up their monopolies, you're nuts. Governments are going to use any excuse to crack down and regulate bitcoin out of existence.