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Not sure this makes sense. I can exchange USD for my local currency, GBP (including physical notes) for significantly less in commission and bid/offer spread th
by tomatocracy 4y ago
Not sure this makes sense. I can exchange USD for my local currency, GBP (including physical notes) for significantly less in commission and bid/offer spread than crypto exchanges charge for crypto to USD.
- rglullis 4y agoTry the same with the Brazilian Real or the Argentinian Peso. Also, try doing that with more than 10k USD. Also, try sending it to someone overseas.
- tomatocracy 4y agoYes - countries with capital controls and/or corruption problems make life harder in many ways. But I'm not sure I understand why stablecoins make that any less of a problem when compared with holding USD in a US based account - unless the point is to avoid AML/KYC requirements. Same for larger amounts and sending money internationally - I've done both quite frequently, and it's much cheaper to do than using crypto would be.
- rglullis 4y agoIn a global economy, it is a lot easier to acquire/transact/hold stable tokens than actual USD, that is the point. If all you care about is the developed bubble, crypto makes little sense.
- lottin 4y ago> unless the point is to avoid AML/KYC requirements That's the entire raison d'etre of these stablecoins.
- lottin 4y agoAlso, try smuggling some cocaine into any country.
- rglullis 4y agoRight, because an immigrant working in the US and helping their family to buy a house in their home country is exactly the same as being a drug dealer.
- lottin 4y agoIf you're an immigrant working in the US, the rules don't apply to you?
- rglullis 4y agoEven though I could just tell you that blindly following rules is a trait of morons and authoritarians who have a control fetish, or go on a diatribe about "legal != moral"... notice how I didn't say anything about not following the rules. The point was about the cost of doing large transfers with crypto vs a traditional bank or currency exchange shop. You can report the crypto transactions just the same, you know? (Maybe it is time to change HackerNews' name to something more reflective of the current audience. What do you think of "Conformist 'R Us"?)
- lottin 4y agoOf course you didn't say explicitly, you implied it... since if you add the bureaucratic costs of international money transfers, then crypto is much more expensive than a wire transfer, it would make absolutely no sense to use crypto if you followed the rules.
- rglullis 4y ago> since if you add the bureaucratic costs of international money transfers it will be more expensive That is plain, utterly, provably wrong. You have no idea of what kind of fees a bank will charge to exchange a wire of tens of thousands of dollars. > it would make absolutely no sense to use crypto if you followed the rules. Some of the rules are very specific at about the source and means of the funds. E.g, some taxes in Brazil are applied only for purchases done through credit cards. Others apply for financial operations between different banks. It is not illegal (and much less immoral) to know about the loopholes that allows you to avoid paying the exorbitant fees.
- whimsicalism 4y agoYes, you do not live in a place with rampant corruption and/or capital controls.
- lottin 4y agoAs far as I know, every country in the world has capital controls.
- rglullis 4y agoSo it is just a matter of how hard you like the boot stomping on your face, huh?
- lottin 4y agoThe idea that promoting a tool intended to undermine governing institutions, democratic and undemocratic alike, will result in a world with less oppression is one of the dumbest pitches the crypto community has come up with so far.
- whimsicalism 4y agothe argument is that some people have value in holding dollars. if stablecoin enables getting people those dollars cheaper than they could get them before, that is good for those people.
- lottin 4y agoAs I was saying, some people have value in holding cocaine.
- whimsicalism 4y agoOkay?
- rglullis 4y ago