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A United world government could non-trivially prevent this (though enforcement would still be difficult at the individual level). We don’t have that though, and

A United world government could non-trivially prevent this (though enforcement would still be difficult at the individual level). We don’t have that though, and in practice today it’s useful in order to escape authoritarian dictatorships. The specific case I read about was someone escaping the Russian occupied areas of Ukraine this way: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tatianakoffman/2020/06/13/why-bitcoin-is-a-silent-protest-against-corrupt-governments-everywhere/?sh=7bc9777c3542#188214803542 https://www.forbes.com/sites/tatianakoffman/2020/06/13/why-b... It’s also more common in countries with bad currencies and limited access to USD (Venezuela). You’re right it’s not perfect, but it gives more power to individuals than the alternatives. It’s also possible something like Zcash could allow individuals to transact despite an all seeing panopticon, but I don’t know how that works well enough to have a strong opinion.

TomSwirly 5y ago
> in practice today it’s useful in order to escape authoritarian dictatorships. Or in fact, any financial law by any government. And yet if you say a major application of crypto is crime everyone gets all hurt...
- derangedHorse 5y ago
  Crime is relative so to say a major application of crypto is "crime" isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've seen a Russian commentator in another thread claiming to commit the "crime" of donating Bitcoin to Ukraine (while still being in Russia). I'm sure those of us in the Western world wouldn't have any big moral objections to that. That being said, most studies point to the conclusion that the major application of Bitcoin at least is not crime: https://www.forbes.com/sites/haileylennon/2021/01/19/the-false-narrative-of-bitcoins-role-in-illicit-activity https://www.forbes.com/sites/haileylennon/2021/01/19/the-fal... https://cryptoforinnovation.org/resources/Analysis_of_Bitcoin_in_Illicit_Finance.pdf https://cryptoforinnovation.org/resources/Analysis_of_Bitcoi... (by Michael Morell, former Acting Director, Deputy Director and Director of Intelligence at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA))

TomSwirly 5y ago

> in practice today it’s useful in order to escape authoritarian dictatorships. Or in fact, any financial law by any government. And yet if you say a major application of crypto is crime everyone gets all hurt...

derangedHorse 5y ago
Crime is relative so to say a major application of crypto is "crime" isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've seen a Russian commentator in another thread claiming to commit the "crime" of donating Bitcoin to Ukraine (while still being in Russia). I'm sure those of us in the Western world wouldn't have any big moral objections to that. That being said, most studies point to the conclusion that the major application of Bitcoin at least is not crime: https://www.forbes.com/sites/haileylennon/2021/01/19/the-false-narrative-of-bitcoins-role-in-illicit-activity https://www.forbes.com/sites/haileylennon/2021/01/19/the-fal... https://cryptoforinnovation.org/resources/Analysis_of_Bitcoin_in_Illicit_Finance.pdf https://cryptoforinnovation.org/resources/Analysis_of_Bitcoi... (by Michael Morell, former Acting Director, Deputy Director and Director of Intelligence at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA))