HEAAADERLOGORIGHT BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1) BITCOIN AND THE BLACK MARKET QrrkoD Scan to review worksheet Expemo code: 16UR-41VD-VJR5 1 Warm-up What do you know about bitcoin? It is a virtual or digital currency that costs too much in different countries and with it you can do many things but getting it is difficult 2 Key vocabulary Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right. 1. a cryptocurrency a. a digital form of money produced by a public company 2. money laundering b. a record of money received and paid 3. a seizure c. a situation where there is more effort to punish people for a specific crime 4. conceal d. attracting a lot of attention in the media 5. high-profile e. moving and transferring illegal money to make it seem legal 6. a ledger f. 7. reconstruct g. to build or create something again 8. a crackdown h. to keep something secret taking something using legal authority FOOOOTERRIG HT Learn without forgetting! Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo. © Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Miguel Santiago Saavedra Daza's lessons. 1/4 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1) BITCOIN AND THE BLACK MARKET 3 Before you read You are going to read an article about bitcoin and illegal trading on the internet. Choose the best answers for the questions below, then check your answers by scanning the text on the next page. 1. What is the estimated value of bitcoin connected with illegal activity? a. $5 billion b. $36 billion c. $72 billion 2. According to the article, how many bitcoin transactions are connected with illegal activity? a. almost a third b. almost a quarter c. almost half 3. Why is bitcoin so popular with criminals? a. They can hide their real identities. b. It’s easy to make a lot of money illegally. c. They prefer to use the internet to make payments. FOOOOTERLEF T Learn without forgetting! Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo. © Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Miguel Santiago Saavedra Daza's lessons. 2/4 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1) BITCOIN AND THE BLACK MARKET Bitcoin price is so high because criminals are using it for illegal trades, research suggests If they were to reject it for other digital currencies, its value is ‘likely’ to fall, according to the study 1. Almost half of all bitcoin transactions are associated to reconstruct a network of transactions between with illegal activity, a new study has concluded. 2. 3. Researchers have also linked a quarter of bitcoin market participants from there. 10. identities seem to be masked by a 26-35 character and the trading of drugs and illegal pornography. address, the public nature of blockchain allowed Worryingly for investors, they believe that the them to link bitcoin transactions to individual ‘users’ popularity of the cryptocurrency amongst criminals (market participants) and then further identify the users that had bitcoin seized by authorities. is a major contributor to its value. 4. The study, which was conducted by researchers of Technology Sydney, found that 44 per cent of looking at alternative cryptocurrencies that are better bitcoin transactions and 25 per cent of all users were at concealing a user’s activity. 12. cryptocurrencies is also associated with a decrease in part of the research sample, suggested that around the proportion of illegal activity in bitcoin," the study 24 million bitcoin market participants use the reads. 13. from it. 14. billion worth of bitcoin, the researchers say. payment system comes from its ability to make illegal trade easier. criminals is that the cryptocurrency allows users to 15. implications. transaction is recorded on a digital public ledger information to identify specific individuals. 9. The researchers say they used high-profile bitcoin "This has ethical implications for those that view bitcoin as an investment, as well as valuation However, it isn‘t completely anonymous, as every called the blockchain, and it‘s possible to use this The researchers say their paper suggests that a significant part of the basic value of bitcoin as a One of the main reasons bitcoin is so popular with conceal their identities. However, they also believe that bitcoin could become less useful and less valuable if criminals turn away These bitcoin users are estimated to conduct around around $72 billion, and collectively hold around $8 8. "We find that the emergence of such alternative Their findings from April 2017, the most recent 36 million transactions per year, with a total value of 7. That’s potentially extremely worrying for bitcoinusing criminals, who the researchers say are now cryptocurrency "primarily for illegal purposes". 6. 11. from the University of Sydney and the University associated with illegal activity. 5. The researchers said that although individual users with crime, such as hacks, money laundering 16. For example, changes in the demand to use bitcoin in illegal trade (e.g., due to law enforcement crackdowns) are likely to impact its fundamental seizures - including an FBI raid on the Silk Road value." Dark Web marketplace - as a starting point for Adapted from the Independent, by Aatif Sulleyman, their analysis, and managed to use the blockchain 24th of January 2018 FOOOOTERRIG HT Learn without forgetting! Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo. © Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Miguel Santiago Saavedra Daza's lessons. 3/4 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1) BITCOIN AND THE BLACK MARKET 4 Find the words Find a word or phrase in the text which means.... 5 1. a big part of the value of (sth) (phrase, P.3): popularity 2. connected to (phrase, P.4): associates 3. carry out (sth) (verb, P.6): perform 4. the first stage of a process (three word noun, P.9): block chain 5. hidden (verb - past participle form, P.10): masked 6. appearance or arrival of (sth) (noun, P.12): cryptocurrency 7. results of an action (noun - plural, P.15): implications Adverbs Complete the sentences with the adverbs below. collectively 6 completely potentially primarily worryingly 1. Transactions with bitcoin are never complately anonymous. 2. worryingly 3. The users 4. The scandal could collectively 5. potentially , the reason people play the game is to make a lot of money. , the price of the company’s shares has fallen again. primarily hold around $8 billion worth of bitcoin. be disastrous for the company. Talking point Ask and answer the questions below in pairs or small groups. 1. Have you ever used bitcoin? If not, would you give it a try? Why/why not? I have never used a bitcoin, yes I would, because it would be nice to have too much money 2. What do you think the advantages/disadvantages are of using a digital currency instead of cash? The Advantages of having a digital currency: More practical Safer The disadvantage is that they could see cyber attacks 3. Do you think the high value of bitcoin is connected to illegal activity, or do you think there are other reasons why its so high? FOOOOTERLEF T Learn without forgetting! Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo. © Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Miguel Santiago Saavedra Daza's lessons. 4/4 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1) BITCOIN AND THE BLACK MARKET I think it is high for the illegal reasons and also because it is a bit difficult to get them too PUNTAJE YURANI: PUNTAJE DE DANIEL: FOOOOTERLEF T Learn without forgetting! Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo. © Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Miguel Santiago Saavedra Daza's lessons. 5/4
