Cody Wilson has been making waves in 3D printing circles in recent months. The self-proclaimed activist has set in motion a chain of events that could lead to complications in current gun laws and in a recent turn of events, Wilson has now turned his attention to the crypto-currency Bitcoin.
Wilson's notoriety started after he published plans for a handgun that could be printed using a 3D printer. While relatively expensive for now, 3D printers can easily be purchased online, which means that anybody can start printing handguns in a short amount of time. Along with the 3D printer plans, Wilson also posted a video online that proves that the 3D printed weapon actually works. While Wilson complied when the State Department ordered the takedown of the plans, the ball was already set in motion and the people who already downloaded the plans continued on disseminating them.
Now Wilson wants to take on another "gray" area that promises to make it very difficult for governments to keep track on money trails both legal and illegal. Wilson recently assembled a team of coders to work on more secure encryption methods to increase the anonymity of Bitcoin transactions.
Bitcoin is a new type of currency that relies on peer-to-peer communications to complete transactions. Due to the peer-to-peer nature of the currency, neither banks nor government agencies can look in to the details of each transaction. Since each Bitcoin transaction consists of a string of code encrypted from the sender and decrypted by the recipient, it saw increased usage by many criminal organizations. While Bitcoins offer users a hint of anonymity, the system is still far from perfect and it is possible to determine the identity of the people involved in a Bitcoin transaction using their Bitcoin addresses.
Wilson is now attempting to create software that can add to the strength of the encryptions involved in Bitcoin transactions. Wilson calls the software "Dark Wallet" and if his team is successful in completing it, it could make tracing Bitcoin transactions even more difficult if not impossible.
Bitcoin is becoming more and more popular by the day and the value of the currency is also increasing at an astonishing rate. The problem is that many people are already using this type of currency for illegal transactions such as buying drugs, murder for hire and other criminal activities. While the currency has potential for good, a completely anonymous currency and payment system may do more harm than good in the long run.
