I didn't see in this article where they actually gave a valid reason for the crack down. Is there evidence that the funds for these attacks, or any others, originated from bitcoins?
The initial reaction of my inner knee-jerk skeptic says this is another example of those in power, this time banksters, not letting a good crisis go to waste.
"They are not using the big obvious systems at all," he tells the BBC.
They were using SMS.[1]
"They are all now using the OTR [Off the Record] protocol, which offers end-to-end encryption," he says.
"The arrests that are going on now have come from a trawl through metadata"
This is actually how they found the other would-be attackers:
European media outlets are reporting that the location of a raid conducted on a suspected safe house Wednesday morning was extracted from a cellphone, apparently belonging to one of the attackers, found in the trash outside the Bataclan concert hall massacre. Le Monde reported that investigators were able to access the data on the phone, including a detailed map of the concert hall and an SMS messaging saying “we’re off; we’re starting.” Police were also able to trace the phone’s movements.
The amount of bullshit and propaganda coming out is scary.
This is the website of one of the BBC's experts, for added hilarity[2].
That would actually be a nice reason compared to what I believe. I see this as their opportunity to try and stop Bitcoin for it's actual uses, anonymous payments, not paying taxes etc. etc.
The initial reaction of my inner knee-jerk skeptic says this is another example of those in power, this time banksters, not letting a good crisis go to waste.