Share this article
Internet Watch Foundation Partners to Stop Illicit Bitcoin Use
The Internet Watch Foundation has announced a partnership with a blockchain industry startup aimed at fighting online child sex abuse.
By Pete Rizzo
Updated Sep 11, 2021, 12:21 p.m. Published Jul 6, 2016, 2:03 p.m.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has announced a partnership with blockchain industry startup Elliptic aimed at fighting online child sex abuse.
With the news, the UK-based charity has provided a database of bitcoin addresses associated with sexual abuse content to the startup. Elliptic, in turn, will seek to use the information to "alert financial institutions and law enforcement" of any payments made in support of the illicit activity.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
In statements, IWF CEO Susie Hargreaves said that the action follows what her organization believes is an increase in the use of bitcoin by criminals looking to disseminate child sexual abuse material online.
Elsewhere, consultant and former head of regional organized crime unit head Mark Birch sought to position the development as a positive for both bitcoin the digital currency, and the technology’s larger community.
Birch said:
"Elliptic and IWF’s partnership represents a major step forward in bitcoin’s evolution. Elliptic has demonstrated to banks, law enforcement and the public at large that they are taking meaningful steps to eliminate the illicit use of bitcoin."
The announcement is the latest for the blockchain startup following a $5m fundraising in March.
Image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Ether, Dogecoin, Solana Slide as Bitcoin Fails to Sustain Early-Week Breakout
The pullback followed Tuesday's brief spike above $94,500, a move that triggered a minor short squeeze but failed to break the resistance that has capped bitcoin for most of the past three weeks.
What to know:
- Bitcoin fell toward $90,000 as crypto markets lost ground despite a Federal Reserve rate cut.
- Over $514 million in leveraged positions were liquidated, with major tokens like Ether and Solana also declining.
- Analysts suggest Bitcoin must surpass $94,000 to signal a significant rebound, amid concerns over macroeconomic conditions and market liquidity.
Top Stories
