Europol’s latest announcement marks a significant escalation in Europe’s campaign against digital piracy and illegal streaming networks. Between November 10 and 14, investigators from Europol, the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and Spanish law enforcement carried out a coordinated cyber-patrol in Alicante, Spain. The result: the identification of 69 piracy and illegal streaming websites, including 25 illicit IPTV services referred to cryptocurrency service providers for immediate disruption. Forty-four additional platforms are now under investigation.

The scale of these illegal networks underscores the magnitude of the challenge facing authorities. The targeted sites attracted an estimated audience of 11.8 million annual visitors-an enormous illicit marketplace built on the unauthorized distribution of television programming, live sports, movies, and subscription-only entertainment content. While many users casually perceive digital piracy as a low-level offense, the financial machinery behind these operations is anything but trivial. Europol’s investigators traced roughly $55 million in cryptocurrency linked to the platforms-funds that fuel criminal enterprises, evade tax systems, and distort legitimate digital markets.

The findings expose a growing trend: operators of piracy and illegal streaming services are moving away from traditional payment systems and embracing cryptocurrency as their financial backbone. Europol notes that many criminals “wrongly believe” that cryptocurrency provides anonymity. While blockchain-based transactions do offer greater opacity compared to credit card payments, they are far from untraceable. Transactions leave........

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