4 ms·
I always look at askance to USD-in-a-bank-account backed stablecoins. There's no innovation in them. Their value also depends on how many USD's stored in that
by lez 8y ago
I always look at askance to USD-in-a-bank-account backed stablecoins. There's no innovation in them.
Their value also depends on how many USD's stored in that bank account (not transparent to ordinary people), and the inherent problem with USD - that the FED, a central authority prints it, remains still.
There are other - in my opinion more honest - crypto-only stablecoins, like Dai (of MakerDAO) or Augmint, which are not freezable by any authority, nor cheatable by bribed auditors. They are backed solely by crypto assets, all transparent.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- asynchrony 8y agoCrypto assets are only valuable insofar as they can be exchanged for real world goods and services (mostly people seem to want US dollars). Purely crypto backed stable coins lack a stable relationship to the real world.
- JohnJamesRambo 8y agoInterestingly, in dark web markets, it is often exactly the opposite scenario. No one wants USD and they all want crypto.
- asynchrony 8y agoAt some point they'll want to exchange their profits for real goods and services. They will rely on some exchange service to cash out eventually.
- rocqua 8y agoIf most of the criminal money is used to transact with other criminals, then most of the money doesn't need to convert to USD. The real kicker is whether the other criminals are willing to accept bitcoin which they know won't convert to USD.
- asynchrony 8y agoYou could certainly accept bitcoin for black market transactions and spend bitcoin on black market transactions, but wouldn't most participants want to transport their gains to the real world eventually?
- richardknop 8y agoThose crime bosses eventually want to buy a new mansion, Porche, a yacht, jewellery/stuff for their wife/gf, you know, anything to actually enjoy their life in real world. They eventually need to exchange their ill-gotten gains for real money. They can't stay in BTC forever. Basically they want to turn the BTC they got from their criminal activities to a clean cash not linked to crime. There are various way they might go about it, basically similar techniques as money launderers use.