The Revelation

Phantom Coin
Google maps less than 0.2% of the internet. The rest is uncharted territory, with trenches reaching
the deeper than what can be imagined - the DarkNet. All pervasive, unmovable, unbreakable ,
disturbing. One only hears rumours of the deepest reaches of the web. Some glimpse it. Some are
corrupted by it. Others are changed for ever, never quite fitting into society again. Like Dark Matter, it
is invisible but inevitable. How else can one account for the bulk of the internet being 500 times of
that which is actually seen?

The DarkNet has many access points hidden in plain sight. Unless you are looking for something very
specific, you might not even find it. The DarkNet services those who thrive at the fringes of the
societal structure. From drugs , paedophilia to snub videos, rape and gore thrive here.

A normal everyday internet surfer has no reason to seek out dive pools in which to find DarkNet
portals, and as such one will not find it mentioned on the surface web. The DarkNet is so eerie it
almost seems mythical. It is, however, much more. It’s there, it exists and scarily, it’s all real.

Acts of stupid bravado have mentally maimed many, results of bets accepted for blind, random,
exploration of the DarkNet . It is from people like this that one hears of the community that skirts
society at the heart of modern civilization. What these people witnessed here, is not usually spoken
of. Experiences can be too traumatic. But one hears whispers. There is apparently hundreds of site
dedicated to child pornography. 10 and 11 year olds being forced to have intercourse with middle
aged men. There are forums in which one can only gain membership to, only if, one posts a video of
himself raping a woman. As rumours would have it, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are
things, far worse found down there, which cannot even be mentioned.

What funds caverns like these? How do they function? How do the largest drug lords and slave
traders operate here? How do all these dealers in insanity function? The answer - the phantom
currency - BitCoin.

What is the BitCoin? The BitCoin is a virtual currency. It is defined as a crypto currency, which
essentially is a currency created and transferred through a very difficult to crack computer code. It
behaves like a normal currency. You can buy or sell goods for it. It is even tracked on an exchange and
can be sold for other currencies. The major difference between the BitCoin and other currencies
issued by countries around the world is that the BitCoin, is decentralized.

This means that the Bitcoin, unlike the Pound or the Rupee is not linked to any central or banking
authority. In essence no one issues, controls or regulates this currency. The BitCoin has no central
bank. There is just the BitCoin web site. But that’s it. There is no organization backing it, accounting
for it or overseeing the currency. In fact there is no BitCoin physical server computer as such for even
processing transactions. It’s a phantom currency as ethereal and mysterious as its creators, a group
working under the pseudonym of Nakamoto Satoshi.

So how does this phantom cash work? BitCoins work in a manner very similar to BitTorrent, using a
peer to peer network. This means instead of having one large server computer handling the

©copyright Amartya Majumdar 2013

transactions, a network of computers connected by the internet work together. Each transaction
updates a universal BitCoin transaction ledger lodged in each computer on the BitCoin network.

But where do BitCoins come from? Before any currency can be used, it has to come into existence.
BitCoins before they are used have to be mined from a fiendishly difficult mathematical problem. A
computer is given a very difficult piece of information to solve. Once it solves the problem, a set
amount of bit coins are created. Each time a computer solves problem block, thereby creating (at the
current rate) 25 BitCoins, the problem becomes more difficult to solve. Thus each consecutive mining
of BitCoins takes longer. This in addition to the fact, every 4 years the number of possible BItCoins
mined is halved. This ensures a supply of the currency, without the fear of over printing of new Coins.
In fact after 2140 new BitCoin production will become impossible.

Money at its very basic level is something people believe to have value. Once an object tangible or
otherwise is believed to be worth something and demanded by enough people, it can be used as a
medium of exchange. The BItCoin is no different. People attribute value to it. And why not? It
provides some very unique advantages.

BitCoins is a free currency. It is very easy to send or receive funds. Fund transfer is in fact very similar
to sending and receiving email. Since there is no intermediary, like credit card companies or banks,
one does not face any associated charges.

This apart, the BitCoin is very secure. Each digital unit has its own unique code, which is matched
with the private code of the holder’s digital wallet. BitCoins, even though open source, cannot be
counterfeited. Hackers have tried to do this for the last three years , with no success.

There is another much more significant reason why BitCoins are a very viable form of currency for
some. The phantom currency offers a great degree of anonymity. If you purchased, say, a computer
from flipkart.com, your bank would have a record of that transaction. More importantly if you
received a payment, the bank and thus the government would definitely know of it. This would not
be the case if you bought and sold using BitCoins. All that the bank would record is of the purchase
of the currency, not what one did with it. It is untraceable.

This allows for all manner of unsavoury clandestine activities. BitCoins have become the lifeblood of
societies, organizations and persons engaged in illegal activities in the DarkNet. Deals are made and
closed here with BitCoins. Silk Road, one of the world’s biggest drug dealers, delivers drugs right to
your doorstep, just like a book bought off Amazon.com, accepts payment only in BitCoins.

The DarkNet has other services to offer. BlackMarketReloaded is another of those phantom sites,
difficult to find, but very real. One can hire men to murder, rape, kidnap, maim and torture here.
There are dozens of sites which supply clandestine arms and ammunition. Various terrorist cells also
operate through the DarkNet.. And yes, it is all financed through BitCoin. What is scary is that legit
merchants have started to buy into this currency forming a link between that world and ours.

The influence of the DarkNet is felt everywhere. People all around hoard BitCoins to evade tax.
Unscrupulous politicians have enormous holdings in this currency, After all, there is no physical
evidence, and millions can be stored in a matter of a few megabytes.

©copyright Amartya Majumdar 2013

The DarkNet cannot be shut down. To close even one site on the DarkNet would take gargantuan
amount resources such as pulling a satellite for this purpose only. Even if a site is destroyed, three
more spring up in its place. The DarkNet is here to stay.

What of the BitCoin? It cannot be frozen either. It doesn’t exist on any one plane, on any one server.
It exists where the internet exists. Is there any permanent solution to this problem?

Do the authorities know of this? Can anything be done? Moreover, can we afford to be blasé about
the DarkNet, since it does not directly affect our lives? Is it to be treated as nothing more than a
passing curiosity? Or does it have far greater ramifications in our society?

Written by Amartya Majumdar

©copyright Amartya Majumdar 2013