I nvestment Goldman . . . . _. Management As Bitcoin Ownership is Not Anonymous, Illicit Use has Fallen _ Division "Bitcoin just shows you how much demand for money laundering there is in the world. That’: all it is. Its an index of money laundering.” — BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, October 13, 2017 = Because bitcoin is pseudonymous, not anonymous, users’ real-world identities are ascertainable once the individual converts bitcoin to fiat currency. = Digital intelligence companies continually scan the blockchain to identify suspicious transaction activity. = The Blockchain Intelligence Group estimates that illegal transactions in bitcoin fell from ~50% of total volume in 2015 to ~20% in 2016, and represent “significantly less than that” today. = As law enforcement has become better able to track bitcoin ransom, cybercriminals have begun to favor currencies that allow anonymity, such as Monero and Zcash, and even Ether. Source: Investment Strategy Group, Blockchain Intelligence Group, https://www.cnbc.com/201 7/08/29/dark-web-finds-bitcoin-increasingly-more-of-a-problem-than-a-help-tries-other- 1 digital-currencies.html. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_025674