Bitcoin is Now the Currency of Killing! Did Decentralization go Wrong?

A woman who attempted to hire an assassin using Bitcoin has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Bitcoin is one of the most famous cryptocurrencies in the world. It is also considered the king of all Cryptos. This digital currency allows you to buy Insurance, consumer staples, luxury watches, event tickets, and even an assassin to kill someone. You read it right, Jessica Leeann Sledge, 40, pleaded guilty in February to using interstate commerce with the intent to hire an assassin between Sept. 21 and Nov. 1, 2021, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Mississippi.

A federal judge sentenced a Mississippi woman to 10 years in prison for hiring and paying a hitman US$10,000 in bitcoin to kill her ex-husband. In addition to a ten-year prison sentence, Sledge was fined US$1,000 and will spend three years on supervised release following the completion of her prison term.

Sledge's payments in October 2021 were made when Bitcoin was priced at around US$54,771. With the crypto crash this Spring, the BTC would be worth around US$5,800 today if law enforcement held onto it.

Bitcoin's use in crime continues to be a cudgel regulators use to justify a ban on cryptocurrencies. Last year, Nelson Replogle of Tennessee allegedly paid a hitman he found on a murder-for-hire website to kill his wife using Bitcoin from his Coinbase wallet.

According to the FBI filing, Replogle sent the would-be killer Bitcoin, a description of his wife's car, and a time when she would take their pet to the veterinarian.

The FBI obtained the transaction details from Coinbase and through a subpoena to Replogle's internet provider, AT&T confirmed the connection had come from Replogle's home. At which time a warrant was issued for his arrest. Replogle's wife was left unharmed.

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