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I wonder if this is somebody really being philanthropic, or if they just control a ton of bitcoin that they can't access (for fear of taxation / Questions Being

I wonder if this is somebody really being philanthropic, or if they just control a ton of bitcoin that they can't access (for fear of taxation / Questions Being Asked), so they drop it on charities they're sympathetic to...

celticninja 9y ago
The donor has said/intimated they they have enough money from bitcoin that they own that they really dont need the rest and so it may as well go to good causes. He/She/They can probably expect something of a tax write-off but I imagine that taxes arent really a problem for them either. If you are happy to give away ~$80m then paying ~$10-20m in taxes is not going to phase you.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- tehlike 9y ago
  They can do a DAF if they are in the us.
aviv 9y ago
Or they feel guilty with how those coins were obtained.
got2surf 9y ago
Isn't it philanthropy regardless? If Pine benefits, it's only because society benefits.
- 0x0 9y ago
  Just like Robin Hood then? :)
- Tarq0n 9y ago
  It's difficult to realize a structural benefit to society through charity.
  - acct1771 9y ago
    Could you elaborate on your meaning?
piracy1 9y ago
They could still obscure its source and exchange it for cash.
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  Obscuring the source won't help if the IRS knows "John Doe at least once controlled the Bitcoins at address foo". At that point, they'll assume you still control them unless you can prove otherwise.
  - GeorgeDewar 9y ago
    Unless the money came from an illicit source (I don't think the source was stated, but making a ton of money from Bitcoin's rise is perfectly legitimate), cashing out would surely be perfectly legitimate as long as one paid the right taxes, which there would hardly be a reason not to.
ISL 9y ago
High-profile lavish giving to charities without paying taxes on income is a guaranteed recipe for a bad time. In my mind, this person is simply choosing to be charitable, a wonderful thing.
- craftyguy 9y ago
  In the US, there's a limit to how much you can deduct in charitable donations from your tax obligation, and IIRC it's something like up to 20% of your taxable income. So unless PF has a taxable income > $56M * .2 (or whatever the actual amount is), they'd get very little tax benefit to making it rain this much. Assuming, of course, that they're in the US.
celticninja 9y ago
The donor has submitted patches for one of the open source projects that they have funded. I imagine that it would be possible for someone to identify him and further the source of the coins could be identified if they were, for example, related to a hack or Silk Road, even tumbling them (tricky with such large volumes) would be noticeable. There is a permanent ledger showing where they have been.
djexns 9y ago
I kind of like to think there are people out there that really think and live according to that phrase "because once you have enough money, money doesn't matter". I know I would...

celticninja 9y ago

The donor has said/intimated they they have enough money from bitcoin that they own that they really dont need the rest and so it may as well go to good causes. He/She/They can probably expect something of a tax write-off but I imagine that taxes arent really a problem for them either. If you are happy to give away ~$80m then paying ~$10-20m in taxes is not going to phase you.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
tehlike 9y ago
They can do a DAF if they are in the us.

aviv 9y ago

Or they feel guilty with how those coins were obtained.

got2surf 9y ago

Isn't it philanthropy regardless? If Pine benefits, it's only because society benefits.

0x0 9y ago
Just like Robin Hood then? :)
Tarq0n 9y ago
It's difficult to realize a structural benefit to society through charity.
- acct1771 9y ago
  Could you elaborate on your meaning?

piracy1 9y ago

They could still obscure its source and exchange it for cash.

ceejayoz 9y ago
Obscuring the source won't help if the IRS knows "John Doe at least once controlled the Bitcoins at address foo". At that point, they'll assume you still control them unless you can prove otherwise.
- GeorgeDewar 9y ago
  Unless the money came from an illicit source (I don't think the source was stated, but making a ton of money from Bitcoin's rise is perfectly legitimate), cashing out would surely be perfectly legitimate as long as one paid the right taxes, which there would hardly be a reason not to.

ISL 9y ago

High-profile lavish giving to charities without paying taxes on income is a guaranteed recipe for a bad time. In my mind, this person is simply choosing to be charitable, a wonderful thing.

craftyguy 9y ago
In the US, there's a limit to how much you can deduct in charitable donations from your tax obligation, and IIRC it's something like up to 20% of your taxable income. So unless PF has a taxable income > $56M * .2 (or whatever the actual amount is), they'd get very little tax benefit to making it rain this much. Assuming, of course, that they're in the US.

celticninja 9y ago

The donor has submitted patches for one of the open source projects that they have funded. I imagine that it would be possible for someone to identify him and further the source of the coins could be identified if they were, for example, related to a hack or Silk Road, even tumbling them (tricky with such large volumes) would be noticeable. There is a permanent ledger showing where they have been.

djexns 9y ago

I kind of like to think there are people out there that really think and live according to that phrase "because once you have enough money, money doesn't matter". I know I would...