Quote from: nulltxmark on August 28, 2019, 12:10:47 PM

Bitcoin mixing does not have the best of reputations. It is a method often associated with criminal activity and money laundering. A new report by Chainalysis puts an interesting spin on this particular business model. The majority of funds does not originate from stolen funds or darknet markets, by the look of things. A surprising turn of events, although it will not change the public perception of Bitcoin mixing just yet.

The Origin of Bitcoin Mixing Funds

The report by Chainalysis paints a very interesting picture as far as mixing Bitcoins is concerned. Although it is evident that this model will always be associated with money laundering, the ones potentially doing so are very different from what was originally assumed. Very little funds passing through these services comes from the darknet or ends up being stolen. Both aspects combined only represent 10.8% of all funds sent through mixers.

That is quite surprising, although it doesnt necessarily make the origin of the funds more legitimate either. The money sent from unnamed services, mining pools, and gambling could still carry some sort of taint. It is of the utmost importance to further analyze that source of money to make sure nothing nefarious is going on. Especially the figures regarding gambling are pretty interesting, as most people assumed a lot of gambling proceeds would be laundered to remove any trace of origin.

Read More: https://cryptomode.com/nearly-half-of-the-funds-sent-to-bitcoin-mixers-comes-from-exchanges/

Reputation. It's a funny thing. Some would say Bitcoin hasn't been able to shrug off the reputation given to it by mainstream media (and I'm not even sure shifting reputation from drugdealer currency to super volatile asset used to run scam ICOs is preferable).

It is good to see that we're getting some evidence that's contrary to accepted wisdom. Not that the evidence would stand up any better to proper scrutiny either.

And yes, while the origin of funds doesn't become more legitimate, neither does it make them more illegitimate when and if they should come from dark markets.

Not sure what it means by ending up being stolen though. You mix bitcoin and they end up getting stolen, is that implying some mixers are scams?