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Essays on the silk road
Essays on the silk road
Essays on the silk road
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Picture an innocent looking online marketplace, similar to those in which you shop for discounted books on Amazon or cheap surfboards on eBay, except you have the option to purchase marijuana, acid, fake passports and licenses, hacking services and potentially the ability to “order a hit” on someone, this my friends, is the Silk Road and it does have a captain. He goes by the alias of “Dread Pirate Roberts,” he’s pocketed $80 million in commissions, and he is the operator of one of the most notorious online black markets which accumulated $1.2 billion in total sales with its nearly one million customers. Shortened to DPR, Ross William was the operator of the site Silk Road, until he was eventually arrested at the beginning of October this year, with the fully operational website and assets summing $4 million being seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Being named after the historical network of trades routes that allowed the integration of cultures spanning from Europe to Asia, Silk Road was home to trade of all sorts of contraband by allowing goods and services to be traded illegally, basically operating outside the formal economy. [1][2]
Silk Road was launched in February of 2011, later becoming known as the “Amazon.com of illegal drugs”, or “the underground website where you can buy any drug imaginable” [1]. A user of Silk Road has the ability to find a dealer specializing in a drug with positive feedback and check out a digital shopping cart, just as if it were any other online shopping site. One user “Bloomingcolor” appeared to be a trusted vendor with a specialty in psychedelic drugs. This sort of reputation-based trading system is found all over legal online marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay. The only accep...
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2. Leger, Donna L.. "How FBI brought down cyber-underworld site Silk Road." USA Today. Gannett, 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. .
3. Greenberg, Andy. "gree'Silk Road 2.0' Launches, Promising A Resurrected Black Market For The Dark Web." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. .
4. Goodale, Gloria. "Rise of Bitcoin: Is the digital currency a solution or a menace? (+video)." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. .
Jacobs, Edwin. "Bitcoin : A Bit Too Far?." Journal Of Internet Banking & Commerce 16.2
Gurus, Tech. "Don't Fight It. Bitcoin Has a Bright Future." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
The topic that I’m going to write about in this paper will be on the electronic currency released in 2009 known as Bitcoins. Bitcoins is a type of currency that entails computer software to be used with one person exchanging with another person for a different kind of trading option such as the US dollar, products or services. There is a fourth reason why Bitcoins can be exchanged which is done when a person is mining, that occurs when a participant acts as a mediator for transactions whereas mediator approves and documents. Bitcoins is one of the largest and first electronic currencies ever created by any developer including the makers Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoins doesn’t meet the characteristic guidelines to be considered an actual type of currency, though the US Treasury recognizes it as a type of decentralized currency in that no person or organization including governments oversees the transaction of Bitcoins.
Human trafficking has been entwined into the structure of governments, arms trade, drug trade, and even spreads as far as terrorism. For many years it has been a fact that the money that has been made by selling other humans to the highest bidder. It is also known that the organized crime operations generate one of the most profitable resources to the organization. These organizations use this money for theirs or other’s crime and end up in the hands of drug lords. Drug lords, in order to promote their own business give money to support terrorist groups and activities. Security after September 11, 2001 has recognized human trafficking as a national and international security risk.
As technology continues to develop at a rapid pace, many aspects of our lives are being transferred to the digital world. The internet has changed the lives of many, giving them a new way to communicate, learn, shop, and more recently, make online transactions without physical cash, checks or credit cards. In 2009, the world of digital currency was altered forever when Satoshi Nakamoto introduced bitcoin, a crypto-currency. It has shown an immense growth in popularity within just six years, offering consumers less fees, more safety, and no physical currency to keep track of.
Pagliery, Jose. "Drug Site Silk Road Wiped Out by Bitcoin Glitch." CNN. 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Felbab-Brown, Vanda. "Organized Criminals Won't Fade Away ." World Today Magazine. 08 2012: n. page. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
Sterling, Claire. Thieves World: The Threat of the New Global Network of Organized Crime. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
Drug trafficking has been a massive concern between the borders of Mexico and the U.S. “since mid 1970s” (Wyler, 1). Drug trafficking is “knowingly being in possession, manufacturing, selling, purchasing, or delivering an illegal, controlled substance” (LaMance, 1). A dynamic relationship exists amongst Columbia, Mexico, and the U.S. the informal drug trafficking economy. This growing informal drug economy leads to many individuals creating a substantial living through this undercover market. These individual drug cartels monopolizing the trafficking market are a growing problem for the U.S economy and need to be located and controlled. If this trafficking continues, the U.S. informal economy will crush the growth of legal industries. The trafficking and abuse of drugs in the U.S. affects nearly all aspects of consumer life. Drug trafficking remains a growing issue and concern to the U.S. government. The U.S. border control must find a way to work with Mexico to overpower the individuals who contribute to the drug trafficking business. This market must be seized and these individuals must be stopped.
The Bitcoin is a change for the global economy because it has the “…ability to move large sums of money across borders instantly, cheaply and potentially anonymously” (Foley, Noble, Chilkoti, and Jones, 2014). Although some countries have established strict enforcements on the Bitcoin, other count...
According to estimates, more than 700,000 people are trafficked every year for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. They are transported across borders and sold into modern-day slavery. Over the past decade, trafficking in human beings has reached epidemic proportions. No country is immune. Clawson (2009) discusses how the search for work abroad has been fueled by economic disparity, high unemployment and disruption of traditional livelihoods. It recognizes neither boundaries nor borders. Consequently profits from trafficking feed into the casket of organized crime. Trafficking is fueled by other criminal activities such as document fraud, money laundering and migrant smuggling. Because trafficking cases are expansive in reach, they are among the most important matters. (Clawson 2009)
Banking on Bitcoin acknowledges these opposing arguments throughout the film but negates them with many different rhetorical elements. The opposing argument does not stop this documentary from being effective in persuading people to use Bitcoin. Cannucciari has supplied sufficient evidence and logic along with rhetorical elements to persuade one into using Bitcoin. The concepts in this documentary support themselves and are still growing today. It would be no surprise to find that this documentary helped the growth of Bitcoin over the last
Among end users of Bitcoin, there are problems that slows its adoption are that of usability and security. Another issue facing Bitcoin users is confidence, both among exchanges and transactions. Current Bitcoin exchanges are plagued with ponzzy schemes and compliance problems, making users wary of changing their money into Bitcoins. Due to an inefficient market, the price of the Bitcoin’ large price swings further eroding confidence in Bitcoin.
The term ‘Bitcoin’ was first described in 1998 by Mr. Wei Dai on a mailing list called as “Cypherpunks” as a crypto-currency. He suggested an idea of a new form of money that uses the language of cryptography of computer science to control its creation & transactions virtually without any prior central authority.
Wolf, Ulf. “Cyber-Crime: Law Enforcement Must Keep Pace With Tech-Savvy Criminals.” Digitalcommunities 27 Jan. 2009 .