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https://dailyhodl.com/2020/09/28/big-bitcoin-holder-transfers-15987-btc-worth-166-million-as-ripple-moves-191000000-xrp/ https://dailyhodl.com/2020/09/28/big-bi

https://dailyhodl.com/2020/09/28/big-bitcoin-holder-transfers-15987-btc-worth-166-million-as-ripple-moves-191000000-xrp/ https://dailyhodl.com/2020/09/28/big-bitcoin-holder-transfer... Quote from article: "The anonymous whale sent 15,987 Bitcoin worth $166 million, paying a fee of $23.46" Tell me, what bank in the world would charge only $23.46 for transferring $166 M?

dudus 6y ago
The anonymous whale sent from one wallet to another just to rotate their address? Or have they actually sent this money to someone else? Was this money acquired legally? Is it being used for illegal activity? A Bank would have to audit it at the very least, so there's value for the people at having banks manage that transfer rather than let them do it anonymously. Also for someone with $166M cost of a large transfer seem negligible even if it was in the 100s of thousands. Unless they need to move it all the time continuously, in which case I'd ask, why do they need that?
- UncleDiaz12 6y ago
  Anti-Money Laundering laws only catch 0.5% of illicit funds, yet cost 100x the money recovered. https://www.ledgerinsights.com/anti-money-laundering-has-less-than-1-impact-on-crime-at-what-cost/ https://www.ledgerinsights.com/anti-money-laundering-has-les... Also, the $10K threshold for additional AML scrutiny has been the same amount for nearly 50 years. It should be close to $50k in today's dollars due to inflation.
  - nmlnn 6y ago
    In 1970 when these AML thresholds were set a dollar was tied to gold at $35/oz. So based on the gold price today it's actually: $10,000 (1970) = $10,000 x 1880/35 = ~$537,000 (2020)
projektfu 6y ago
Assuming you had $166m in one account at your bank, a wire transfer would be $20-35 depending.
pavlov 6y ago
Wire transfer fees are not commissions, so they don’t depend on the amount — unless currency exchange is involved. Large transfers of hundreds of millions USD happen between institutions all the time. I don’t think this is interesting or unique, or a convincing example of why Bitcoin is worth the enormous environmental impact.
JumpCrisscross 6y ago
> what bank in the world would charge only $23.46 for transferring $166 M? I have never paid for a wire. I’ve also overseen multibillion-dollar wires for which there were zero transfer fees. If you send and receive wires, get a bank account that doesn’t charge for them. (This is almost every account at e.g. Fidelity or First Republic.) Consumer accounts usually optimise for a different basket of needs than large instantaneous transfers. If that is something you care about, there are a myriad of options superior to Bitcoin.
- UncleDiaz12 6y ago
  Are you serious? I have sent multiple international wires over the years and money always goes missing either from the sending/receiving fees, or the intermediary bank in New York takes a small cut. Maybe if you have an account with billions of $$$ then you get a special deal, but us normies have to pay.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- daniel-cussen 6y ago
  Those wires are usually expensive because in many places you have to move tangible money around as a result. In Chile in the 2010's Banco de Chile and its counterparties (including Banco BICE) had vaults of their own in their counterparty's complex just so they could square up all the money that moved between their customers on account of instant transfers. Sure, when Alice pays Bob, Bob pays Charlie, and Charlie pays Alice a small amount of money a lot of it cancels out. But not all, and over millions of transactions one bank can end up owing another a lot of money. You have to cash out at some point, as banks hate trusting people with money for no interest. So banks then resort to armored vehicles full of cash and gold bars so they can square up. When they're moving money they balance the cost of additional security against the risk of loss and that's what gets reflected in the bill for the bank wire.
- pingec 6y ago
  Please tell me how to send a 10k USD from US bank account to EU bank account for $23.46 or less. Transferwise is one of the cheapest and it costs $50 USD in fees.

dudus 6y ago

The anonymous whale sent from one wallet to another just to rotate their address? Or have they actually sent this money to someone else? Was this money acquired legally? Is it being used for illegal activity? A Bank would have to audit it at the very least, so there's value for the people at having banks manage that transfer rather than let them do it anonymously. Also for someone with $166M cost of a large transfer seem negligible even if it was in the 100s of thousands. Unless they need to move it all the time continuously, in which case I'd ask, why do they need that?

UncleDiaz12 6y ago
Anti-Money Laundering laws only catch 0.5% of illicit funds, yet cost 100x the money recovered. https://www.ledgerinsights.com/anti-money-laundering-has-less-than-1-impact-on-crime-at-what-cost/ https://www.ledgerinsights.com/anti-money-laundering-has-les... Also, the $10K threshold for additional AML scrutiny has been the same amount for nearly 50 years. It should be close to $50k in today's dollars due to inflation.
- nmlnn 6y ago
  In 1970 when these AML thresholds were set a dollar was tied to gold at $35/oz. So based on the gold price today it's actually: $10,000 (1970) = $10,000 x 1880/35 = ~$537,000 (2020)

projektfu 6y ago

Assuming you had $166m in one account at your bank, a wire transfer would be $20-35 depending.

pavlov 6y ago

Wire transfer fees are not commissions, so they don’t depend on the amount — unless currency exchange is involved. Large transfers of hundreds of millions USD happen between institutions all the time. I don’t think this is interesting or unique, or a convincing example of why Bitcoin is worth the enormous environmental impact.

JumpCrisscross 6y ago

> what bank in the world would charge only $23.46 for transferring $166 M? I have never paid for a wire. I’ve also overseen multibillion-dollar wires for which there were zero transfer fees. If you send and receive wires, get a bank account that doesn’t charge for them. (This is almost every account at e.g. Fidelity or First Republic.) Consumer accounts usually optimise for a different basket of needs than large instantaneous transfers. If that is something you care about, there are a myriad of options superior to Bitcoin.

UncleDiaz12 6y ago
Are you serious? I have sent multiple international wires over the years and money always goes missing either from the sending/receiving fees, or the intermediary bank in New York takes a small cut. Maybe if you have an account with billions of $$$ then you get a special deal, but us normies have to pay.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
daniel-cussen 6y ago
Those wires are usually expensive because in many places you have to move tangible money around as a result. In Chile in the 2010's Banco de Chile and its counterparties (including Banco BICE) had vaults of their own in their counterparty's complex just so they could square up all the money that moved between their customers on account of instant transfers. Sure, when Alice pays Bob, Bob pays Charlie, and Charlie pays Alice a small amount of money a lot of it cancels out. But not all, and over millions of transactions one bank can end up owing another a lot of money. You have to cash out at some point, as banks hate trusting people with money for no interest. So banks then resort to armored vehicles full of cash and gold bars so they can square up. When they're moving money they balance the cost of additional security against the risk of loss and that's what gets reflected in the bill for the bank wire.
pingec 6y ago
Please tell me how to send a 10k USD from US bank account to EU bank account for $23.46 or less. Transferwise is one of the cheapest and it costs $50 USD in fees.