Tether aims to increase visibility and mitigate controls on cryptocurrency payments used in child abuse content marketplaces through a collaboration with INHOPE.
The stablecoin operator will work with INHOPE, a global network to combat online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), to share information, engage with stakeholders, and take action on bad actors in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the collaboration aims to develop a standard practice for the cryptocurrency industry to identify and report these underground markets.
Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino said the company was working together with law enforcement, financial intelligence units, legislators and standard-setting bodies globally to put in place “sensible risk mitigation controls.”
“We are especially interested in improving the ability of cryptocurrency companies to identify transfers related to online CSAM markets and report them to authorities.”
INHOPE has been running since 1999, with a network of hotlines that includes all Member States of the European Union, Russia, South Africa, North and South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The association is driven by the desire to disrupt the illegal use of cryptocurrency to finance the sharing of child abuse material.
In a statement from Samantha Woolfe, INHOPE’s Head of Global Partnerships, highlights the fact that these marketplaces use all available payment technologies, calling for greater collaboration between public and private sector organizations:
“Cryptocurrency exchanges, hotlines, and law enforcement must seek more solutions to combat child sexual abuse by sharing critical information and actionable intelligence more efficiently.”
Cryptocurrency transactions have been singled out in the past for facilitating the trade in child abuse materials. A 2020 Chainalysis report tracked around $930,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) payments to addresses associated with CSAM providers in 2019.
UNICEF called for increased regulatory oversight of cryptocurrency markets in early 2022 to help combat the use of cryptocurrency to facilitate trade in child abuse material.
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