If you think it's great for that purpose then why is the vast majority of money laundering done in US dollars and not bitcoin?
And why do so many have such double standard? Bitcoin dark web bad, bad. Dollar pfft. Crackheads on the corner sure don't take BTC lol.
How do you know that? Money is a medium of exchange, it's trade. My illicit products for your cash in whatever currency. The drug dealer and drug user trade in cash; the drug dealer and his dealer trade in cash; but the wholesaler can transfer his room full of cash into BTC and now it's gone.
There are plenty of university studies, the U.N. has studied this, and the list goes on. Do you really need me to do your research for you? Crime happens with US DOLLARS. Duh. It's always been this way and the numbers are absolutely overwhelming. If you are going to imply that Bitcoin is used for criminal activity more than cash then I'd say it's up to you to bring it. Bitcoin is not some safe haven for criminal activity and the criminals know that. Unlike you, they realize that using bitcoin is the fastest way to get caught.
So let's see if I've got this right? If money is used it is trade? If Bitcoin is used it is illicit? What about if the illicit transaction is done by someone in a Tesla lololol? No doubt it is genius. Especially if it involved pot.
We're running in circles here. My only argument against BTC comes from its libertarian/anarchist wing who want complete independence from government oversight but, as this example shows, it isn't and thus is less dangerous than it could be.
This is from google: "Wholesale-level drug distribution in the United States generates between $13.6 billion and $48.4 billion annually. Between $8.3 billion and $24.9 billion in drug proceeds is smuggled out of the United States by Mexican and Colombian DTOs across the U.S.-Mexico border, primarily in bulk through South Texas POEs." So you cannot say that BTC is only for this. Actually, you can check everyone transaction in the blockchain.