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Prosecution of Black Market Bazaar Likely to Further Tarnish Bitcoin’s Reputation
By Colby Adams
printThe indictment Wednesday of an online black market for narcotics and weapons vendors could further hamper proponents of a growing digital currency in the eyes of bank compliance officers. The Southern District of New York accused Texas resident Ross William Ulbricht of running Silk Road, a Web site that, until Wednesday, allowed users to anonymously buy or sell narcotics, illegal munitions, criminal services, hacking tools and fake documentation. Ulbricht separately solicited a Silk Road user to murder an individual attempting to extort him by threatening to identify the Web site's users, prosecutors said. Federal officials outlined a large and profitable...
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