Researchers from Melbourne's RMIT University reviewed 59 criminal cases involving Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that were heard in Australian courts between 2013 and 2022.

Almost 80 per cent of cases involved drug offences such as importation and commercial trafficking, while other charges included firearms and money laundering.

Sentencing judges viewed crypto as a sophisticated element of criminal behaviour so they tended to hand down harsher sentences, study co-author Lisanne Adam said.

"One reason for this is that cryptocurrency is the only method of payment on dark web marketplaces and sentencing judges are keen to send a message to deter potential offenders," she said.

"Cryptocurrency is potentially attractive to criminals because the technology facilitates seamless global transfers without the friction of the traditional banking system and in a way that can be difficult to identify."

References to cryptocurrency in criminal offences have grown from a single case in 2013 to 46 in 2020.

It comes as the use of alternative currencies grows in the general population, with more than a million Australians now holding a cryptocurrency account.

Ms Adam said the courts and wider legal profession needed to adapt to the changing view of crypto.

"There is a risk that law enforcement prosecutors characterise cryptocurrency as a marker of sophistication in crime, which is not always the case," she said.

"Law enforcement need to effectively determine the level of sophistication in the crime and present a fair case.

"Meanwhile, future cases are likely to be even more complex."

Australian Associated Press