A woman who paid a hitman in Bitcoin in a failed plot to murder her boyfriend has been jailed.

The 58-year-old Italian, who lives in Denmark, ordered the killing in March by transferring 4.1 bitcoin, then worth around £3,000, to the hitman's virtual wallet, a court found.

She was jailed for six years on Friday and will be expelled from Denmark, where she has lived for 30 years, after her sentence.

The intended murder victim was at the court hearing near Copenhagen and spoke with the woman - who has not been named - after the ruling, according to Danish media reports.

Bitcoin can be transferred electronically between users without an intermediary such as a bank, making it potentially attractive for buying illegal goods or services.


Its price jumped 25% after it started trading on a major exchange for the first time earlier this week.