4 ms·

Wow. So people should treat it not as a pyramid scheme, but as a legitimate asset, because it can be used for money laundering! That is truly hilarious!

taberiand 9y ago
Well, if money laundering it legitimate to you...
- mschuster91 9y ago
  Money laundering, in my opinion, is not only legitimate, but neccessary, given that e.g. European banking transactions end up via SWIFT or implants at the NSA headwuarters. In addition many governments try to move citizens to "electronic payment" (ranging from online banking to NFC credit cards). The reason is once again tracking, and as could be seen during the financial crisis it's easy to just confiscate money when it's just numbers in a mainframe vs actual piles of cash in my home safe.
  - ruytlm 9y ago
    On the flip side, your piles of cash are only valuable at the moment. Print enough new money, and your cash is worthless, at which point its value has been taken from you without any interaction with you.
  - daveguy 9y ago
    Blockchain currency definitely isn't the solution if the problem is tracking or avoiding confiscation. 1) the blockchain is a permanent immutable log. Once you do tie and identity to an address every transaction ever is immediately available. 2) the key that is the currency resides as just numbers in a computer. Maybe you have yours on a hardware wallet in a fireproof safe. Most don't. Especially those launderers who are shuffling coin around.
    - kaffeemitsahne 9y ago
      There are other cryptocurrencies that (try to) solve problem 1), e.g. Monero.
  - the_cat_kittles 9y ago
    do you think all attempts to stop money laundering are bad? isn't it reasonable to try to prevent people from profiting off stuff that we all agree is bad? trying to figure out if you are saying there are downsides, or that its all bad.
  - peculiar 9y ago
    There is a GNU project [1] that's basically an electronic cash. It has no restrictions on what you use as currency (fiat, gold, bitcoin). But the government cannot track what you buy. At the same time merchants can be taxed, so there should be no issues from the legislation standpoint. [1]: https://taler.net/en/ https://taler.net/en/
the_cat_kittles 9y ago
i dont think he is making a normative judgement about it, just an observation of how its used, which i think is correct.

taberiand 9y ago

Well, if money laundering it legitimate to you...

mschuster91 9y ago
Money laundering, in my opinion, is not only legitimate, but neccessary, given that e.g. European banking transactions end up via SWIFT or implants at the NSA headwuarters. In addition many governments try to move citizens to "electronic payment" (ranging from online banking to NFC credit cards). The reason is once again tracking, and as could be seen during the financial crisis it's easy to just confiscate money when it's just numbers in a mainframe vs actual piles of cash in my home safe.
- ruytlm 9y ago
  On the flip side, your piles of cash are only valuable at the moment. Print enough new money, and your cash is worthless, at which point its value has been taken from you without any interaction with you.
- daveguy 9y ago
  Blockchain currency definitely isn't the solution if the problem is tracking or avoiding confiscation. 1) the blockchain is a permanent immutable log. Once you do tie and identity to an address every transaction ever is immediately available. 2) the key that is the currency resides as just numbers in a computer. Maybe you have yours on a hardware wallet in a fireproof safe. Most don't. Especially those launderers who are shuffling coin around.
  - kaffeemitsahne 9y ago
    There are other cryptocurrencies that (try to) solve problem 1), e.g. Monero.
- the_cat_kittles 9y ago
  do you think all attempts to stop money laundering are bad? isn't it reasonable to try to prevent people from profiting off stuff that we all agree is bad? trying to figure out if you are saying there are downsides, or that its all bad.
- peculiar 9y ago
  There is a GNU project [1] that's basically an electronic cash. It has no restrictions on what you use as currency (fiat, gold, bitcoin). But the government cannot track what you buy. At the same time merchants can be taxed, so there should be no issues from the legislation standpoint. [1]: https://taler.net/en/ https://taler.net/en/

the_cat_kittles 9y ago

i dont think he is making a normative judgement about it, just an observation of how its used, which i think is correct.