5 ms·

It’s pretty cool that I can send $1M to someone without a bank intervening, not to mention that nobody can stop the transaction from happening. And then they ca

by ttul 5y ago

It’s pretty cool that I can send $1M to someone without a bank intervening, not to mention that nobody can stop the transaction from happening. And then they can print that out onto a sheet a paper and put it into a vault. Crypto is really great if you’re a drug dealer or some other kind of criminal.

techwiz137 5y ago
That's a very disgusting generalization of the average crypto user. So since I've been using cryptocurrency for 11 years now, I am definitely a criminal or drug dealer...
- shafyy 5y ago
  What do you use it for?
  - exdsq 5y ago
    I get paid across various countries (UK, EU, US) and it's sure easier to get paid with a stable coin than fiat. Ever dealt with a US business when you only have a UK account and they're asking for your routing number? Had a one-day $1000 contract last year to write a quick training document and it took an extra day of communicating with their accounting team to find a solution. And then it takes days to transfer across systems. My normal payment route is EU -> UK -> US which has fees and takes two days, or I can get paid with a stable coin from EU -> US in around two minutes.
    - shafyy 5y ago
      I routinely get paid from various countries (including US and EU), and Wise works great for that. The fees are rather low. I think my clients would show me the door if I asked them if they can pay me in some crypto...
      - exdsq 5y ago
        I use Wise but it’s still two days. If it’s a startup that’s technical in nature they’ve all been happy with crypto!
- bojo 5y ago
  Indirectly. You are processing their transactions.
  - techwiz137 5y ago
    This drug argument is silly. Dollars are still the main culrpit in drug deals. They still account for the majority of drug transactions in the world.
    - latchkey 5y ago
      Oil is a terrible drug.
      - HeckFeck 5y ago
        It certainly is if you're an environmentalist. Or an Iraqi.
    - ben_w 5y ago
      That’s not an effective rebuttal. First: Blockchain transactions are only accepted when they’re added to the blockchain, so participating in the blockchain necessarily directly enables the drug (etc.) transactions in a way which isn’t true for fiat or commodity currencies. (I happen to have the opinion that almost all drugs should be legally available in some form for personal use, but that’s a different argument; partly but not solely because I think legalisation will help to stop criminals getting the money). Second: inverting group membership like that is poor logic. Consider for example, that the fruit of atropa belladonna is poisonous. The fact that most poison isn’t derived from belladonna does not change this.
      - danaris 5y ago
        Also worth noting: Even if you believe that all drugs should be legal for informed personal use, that doesn't change the predatory and destructive nature of drug dealers and cartels in the system as it exists today. If you want to support personal, recreational use of drugs, the ethical, responsible way to do that is through campaigning for reform of our laws, not through enabling and funding violent organized crime groups that profit massively off keeping people so addicted they can't function in society.
- YXNjaGVyZWdlbgo 5y ago
  Read the rules and adept your writing. Stop the empty wording and flamebait... it's "disgusting".
can16358p 5y ago
...Or want an alternative to corruption.
- user-the-name 5y ago
  Cryptocurrency does nothing, nada, zilch, zero to address corruption in any shape. In many ways, it helps corruption, by providing a way to secretly transfer funds.
  - can16358p 5y ago
    Sure many illegal activity goes on on crypto, but as a person who doesn't trust the authorities, I'd still prefer crypto. Lots of illegal activity goes on fiat too, at least I have more control over my assets on crypto.
    - user-the-name 5y ago
      So you agree it does nothing to address corruption?
      - can16358p 5y ago
        I don't. I have much more control over my assets whereas a corrupted government can seize my assets from a bank under their authority.
        user-the-name 5y ago
        That is not the generally accepted meaning of the word "corruption". You are playing fast and loose with words here.
  - ben_w 5y ago
    Agree about the first sentence, but for the second, don’t underestimate the value of a suitcase full of gold bars.
  - 5y ago
heydonovan 5y ago
Criminals use dollars, not crypto. You would not want to use a technology whose main selling point is a permanent, public ledger of all transactions.
- UncleMeat 5y ago
  Is there any ransomware group that doesn't charge in crypto nowadays?
HeckFeck 5y ago
It’s pretty cool that I can send a text message to someone without an authority intervening, not to mention that nobody can stop the transaction from happening. And then they can print that out onto a sheet a paper or share it with all their friends. Encryption is really great if you’re a terrorist or some kind of pervert.
- thjkgfgrrioppo 5y ago
  How do you send a text message without any authority intervening these days? Email used to do that, I guess, but now if GMail doesn't like you there may be problems.
  - HeckFeck 5y ago
    You can create a new email address if your previous one is blacklisted. The idea is that no one needs permission in both cases, and the message can be sent only to the intended recipient without a middleman reading its contents. BTC is the same with money. The same FUD was ignited against encryption back in the day, and "save the children" hysteria still is ablaze if you live in the UK.
moron4hire 5y ago
It's not pretty cool that I can send whatever malicious content I want to a wallet and the receiver has no recourse against receiving it. Want to harass someone with dick-picks that empty their wallet when they try to "delete" them? Web3 has got you all day long.
- kyruzic 5y ago
  This is not true at all.
  - moron4hire 5y ago
    It's absolutely true https://blog.mollywhite.net/abuse-and-harassment-on-the-blockchain/ https://blog.mollywhite.net/abuse-and-harassment-on-the-bloc... https://blockcast.cc/news/a-new-type-of-nft-scam-beware-of-sudden-nft-airdrops-in-your-wallet/ https://blockcast.cc/news/a-new-type-of-nft-scam-beware-of-s...
    - kyruzic 5y ago
      No it is not. An image cannot be stored on any of the popular block chains. An NFT contains a link to an image, which the chain has no way of displaying, third party websites like Opensea display the images. And you can never delete anything from a blockchain so your second point is completely false as well. And even if you could delete something from a chain it could not "drain" your wallet unless you explicitly gave it permission to use your coins.
matheusmoreira 5y ago
So is encryption in general. Same technology that protects us also protects them.
slaw3 5y ago
Ya pretty cool that someone from Ghana living in Canada could send $5000 worth of crypto to their family without a bank intervening. Also pretty cool that they could be paid per second instead of weekly or monthly using something like Superfluid. If these are problems that don’t exist for you, consider yourself lucky and remind yourself of the opportunities for many that you’re advocating against.
- mns 5y ago
  How are the people in Ghana transform that crypto allegedly worth 5000$ in real money or in things from real life, like paying utilities, food, transport costs and others?
Trufa 5y ago
Most definitely! I miss the pre-crypto days where criminals didn't have any means of having assets and the banks were just stopping any kind of illicit financial activity.
- HeckFeck 5y ago
  https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/28/hsbc-faces-questions-over-disclosure-of-alleged-money-laundering-to-monitors https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/28/hsbc-faces-... > Insiders who spoke to journalists as part of a joint investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, have suggested that HSBC may not have appropriately shared the information with the monitoring team installed by US regulators in 2012 after HSBC allowed drug cartels in Latin America to launder hundreds of millions of dollars through its accounts. Maybe someday all these anti-crypto activists will rail against the banks and their fiat financial system too. We gotta stop the druggies! ;)

by ttul 5y ago

techwiz137 5y ago

That's a very disgusting generalization of the average crypto user. So since I've been using cryptocurrency for 11 years now, I am definitely a criminal or drug dealer...

shafyy 5y ago
What do you use it for?
- exdsq 5y ago
  I get paid across various countries (UK, EU, US) and it's sure easier to get paid with a stable coin than fiat. Ever dealt with a US business when you only have a UK account and they're asking for your routing number? Had a one-day $1000 contract last year to write a quick training document and it took an extra day of communicating with their accounting team to find a solution. And then it takes days to transfer across systems. My normal payment route is EU -> UK -> US which has fees and takes two days, or I can get paid with a stable coin from EU -> US in around two minutes.
  - shafyy 5y ago
    I routinely get paid from various countries (including US and EU), and Wise works great for that. The fees are rather low. I think my clients would show me the door if I asked them if they can pay me in some crypto...
    - exdsq 5y ago
      I use Wise but it’s still two days. If it’s a startup that’s technical in nature they’ve all been happy with crypto!
bojo 5y ago
Indirectly. You are processing their transactions.
- techwiz137 5y ago
  This drug argument is silly. Dollars are still the main culrpit in drug deals. They still account for the majority of drug transactions in the world.
  - latchkey 5y ago
    Oil is a terrible drug.
    - HeckFeck 5y ago
      It certainly is if you're an environmentalist. Or an Iraqi.
  - ben_w 5y ago
    That’s not an effective rebuttal. First: Blockchain transactions are only accepted when they’re added to the blockchain, so participating in the blockchain necessarily directly enables the drug (etc.) transactions in a way which isn’t true for fiat or commodity currencies. (I happen to have the opinion that almost all drugs should be legally available in some form for personal use, but that’s a different argument; partly but not solely because I think legalisation will help to stop criminals getting the money). Second: inverting group membership like that is poor logic. Consider for example, that the fruit of atropa belladonna is poisonous. The fact that most poison isn’t derived from belladonna does not change this.
    - danaris 5y ago
      Also worth noting: Even if you believe that all drugs should be legal for informed personal use, that doesn't change the predatory and destructive nature of drug dealers and cartels in the system as it exists today. If you want to support personal, recreational use of drugs, the ethical, responsible way to do that is through campaigning for reform of our laws, not through enabling and funding violent organized crime groups that profit massively off keeping people so addicted they can't function in society.
YXNjaGVyZWdlbgo 5y ago
Read the rules and adept your writing. Stop the empty wording and flamebait... it's "disgusting".

can16358p 5y ago

...Or want an alternative to corruption.

user-the-name 5y ago
Cryptocurrency does nothing, nada, zilch, zero to address corruption in any shape. In many ways, it helps corruption, by providing a way to secretly transfer funds.
- can16358p 5y ago
  Sure many illegal activity goes on on crypto, but as a person who doesn't trust the authorities, I'd still prefer crypto. Lots of illegal activity goes on fiat too, at least I have more control over my assets on crypto.
  - user-the-name 5y ago
    So you agree it does nothing to address corruption?
    - can16358p 5y ago
      I don't. I have much more control over my assets whereas a corrupted government can seize my assets from a bank under their authority.
      - user-the-name 5y ago
        That is not the generally accepted meaning of the word "corruption". You are playing fast and loose with words here.
- ben_w 5y ago
  Agree about the first sentence, but for the second, don’t underestimate the value of a suitcase full of gold bars.
- 5y ago

heydonovan 5y ago

Criminals use dollars, not crypto. You would not want to use a technology whose main selling point is a permanent, public ledger of all transactions.

UncleMeat 5y ago
Is there any ransomware group that doesn't charge in crypto nowadays?

HeckFeck 5y ago

It’s pretty cool that I can send a text message to someone without an authority intervening, not to mention that nobody can stop the transaction from happening. And then they can print that out onto a sheet a paper or share it with all their friends. Encryption is really great if you’re a terrorist or some kind of pervert.

thjkgfgrrioppo 5y ago
How do you send a text message without any authority intervening these days? Email used to do that, I guess, but now if GMail doesn't like you there may be problems.
- HeckFeck 5y ago
  You can create a new email address if your previous one is blacklisted. The idea is that no one needs permission in both cases, and the message can be sent only to the intended recipient without a middleman reading its contents. BTC is the same with money. The same FUD was ignited against encryption back in the day, and "save the children" hysteria still is ablaze if you live in the UK.

moron4hire 5y ago

It's not pretty cool that I can send whatever malicious content I want to a wallet and the receiver has no recourse against receiving it. Want to harass someone with dick-picks that empty their wallet when they try to "delete" them? Web3 has got you all day long.

kyruzic 5y ago
This is not true at all.
- moron4hire 5y ago
  It's absolutely true https://blog.mollywhite.net/abuse-and-harassment-on-the-blockchain/ https://blog.mollywhite.net/abuse-and-harassment-on-the-bloc... https://blockcast.cc/news/a-new-type-of-nft-scam-beware-of-sudden-nft-airdrops-in-your-wallet/ https://blockcast.cc/news/a-new-type-of-nft-scam-beware-of-s...
  - kyruzic 5y ago
    No it is not. An image cannot be stored on any of the popular block chains. An NFT contains a link to an image, which the chain has no way of displaying, third party websites like Opensea display the images. And you can never delete anything from a blockchain so your second point is completely false as well. And even if you could delete something from a chain it could not "drain" your wallet unless you explicitly gave it permission to use your coins.

matheusmoreira 5y ago

So is encryption in general. Same technology that protects us also protects them.

slaw3 5y ago

Ya pretty cool that someone from Ghana living in Canada could send $5000 worth of crypto to their family without a bank intervening. Also pretty cool that they could be paid per second instead of weekly or monthly using something like Superfluid. If these are problems that don’t exist for you, consider yourself lucky and remind yourself of the opportunities for many that you’re advocating against.

mns 5y ago
How are the people in Ghana transform that crypto allegedly worth 5000$ in real money or in things from real life, like paying utilities, food, transport costs and others?

Trufa 5y ago

Most definitely! I miss the pre-crypto days where criminals didn't have any means of having assets and the banks were just stopping any kind of illicit financial activity.

HeckFeck 5y ago
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/28/hsbc-faces-questions-over-disclosure-of-alleged-money-laundering-to-monitors https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/28/hsbc-faces-... > Insiders who spoke to journalists as part of a joint investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, have suggested that HSBC may not have appropriately shared the information with the monitoring team installed by US regulators in 2012 after HSBC allowed drug cartels in Latin America to launder hundreds of millions of dollars through its accounts. Maybe someday all these anti-crypto activists will rail against the banks and their fiat financial system too. We gotta stop the druggies! ;)