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If you want to hate on crypto, that's your prerogative but stop using the old, tired, false argument about money laundering. It is easier to launder money throu

If you want to hate on crypto, that's your prerogative but stop using the old, tired, false argument about money laundering. It is easier to launder money through the legacy financial system than through cryptocurrency. In fact, financial institutions and businesses do it all the time.

threeseed 5y ago
> It is easier to launder money through the legacy financial system than through cryptocurrency I work for a bank and this is a flat out lie. We have a significant number of controls (regulated by government agencies) for managing money laundering risk. We try to identify source/destinations who hide behind shell companies through beneficial ownership methods. We enforce domestic and international sanctions. We identify and provide data on suspect fraudulent transactions to authorities. None of this happens with crypto. None.
- Lordarminius 5y ago
  The issue is not how many ineffective pro-forma controls banks have. It's whether they stop the activity. Even the Economist agrees that money laundering through the lagacy financial system is out of control. https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/04/12/the-war-against-money-laundering-is-being-lost https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/04/12/t...
- shazzdeeds 5y ago
  And yet the vast majority of money laundering still happens through traditional banking channels. If crypto was such a panacea for laundering all the traffic would have switched over by now.
  - threeseed 5y ago
    a) At some point you have to re-enter the traditional banking system. People after all want to do things with their laundered money like buy yachts, cars, companies, football teams etc. And so if you are sophisticated at money laundering then crypto is largely unnecessary. b) Traditional financial system is 1000s of times bigger than crypto so of course you will see proportionally more money laundering happening there.

threeseed 5y ago

> It is easier to launder money through the legacy financial system than through cryptocurrency I work for a bank and this is a flat out lie. We have a significant number of controls (regulated by government agencies) for managing money laundering risk. We try to identify source/destinations who hide behind shell companies through beneficial ownership methods. We enforce domestic and international sanctions. We identify and provide data on suspect fraudulent transactions to authorities. None of this happens with crypto. None.

Lordarminius 5y ago
The issue is not how many ineffective pro-forma controls banks have. It's whether they stop the activity. Even the Economist agrees that money laundering through the lagacy financial system is out of control. https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/04/12/the-war-against-money-laundering-is-being-lost https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/04/12/t...
shazzdeeds 5y ago
And yet the vast majority of money laundering still happens through traditional banking channels. If crypto was such a panacea for laundering all the traffic would have switched over by now.
- threeseed 5y ago
  a) At some point you have to re-enter the traditional banking system. People after all want to do things with their laundered money like buy yachts, cars, companies, football teams etc. And so if you are sophisticated at money laundering then crypto is largely unnecessary. b) Traditional financial system is 1000s of times bigger than crypto so of course you will see proportionally more money laundering happening there.