One in twenty have bought illegal drugs with Bitcoin
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       New research reveals that 18 per cent of those who know about the digital currency have used Bitcoin to buy goods or services online, and five per cent admit to having used it to buy illegal drugs.
      
      
       Bitcoin has been linked to several thriving underground websites where users can buy illegal drugs and guns for home delivery, such as the Silk Road and Utopia. They offered a way for people to buy illicit items with Bitcoin, relatively anonymously, using the Tor browser. Many have been shut down by police but new sites invariably spring up in their place.
      
      
       Online games were the most popular item bought online by Bitcoin users, according to the survey, with 22 per cent having made a purchase, followed by clothes (19 per cent) and electrical items (17 per cent).
      
      
       Almost a third of Britons believe it to be a "stable currency that will retain its value", which 34 per cent believe that it's the future of online shopping.
      
      
       Those aged between 18 and 34 were the biggest users of Bitcoin, representing 67 per cent of the survey respondents, with the majority of those (29 per cent) owning between £50 and £100 worth of the crypto-currency. Six of the respondents claimed to own over £5,000 in Bitcoin.
      
      
       The research also revealed which cities in the UK were hotspots for Bitcoin early-adopters. Sheffield was where most people had used the digital currency to make purchases, at 27 per cent, pushing the capital into second place with 25 per cent.
      
      
      
       Erik Lorentz, head of communications at PriceSpy.co.uk, which carried out the research, said: “Bitcoin is a hot topic amongst online shoppers and the tech community; however, there is still confusion over how to use it, if it is secure and how well it will retain its value in the future.
      
      
       “It is clear from our research that the nation is increasingly using bitcoins and becoming more comfortable with it as a currency when purchasing online.”
      
      
     