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>>These people got blocked by traditional payment providers but still received crypto. I thought their crypto payments were tracked (open ledger) and basically

>>These people got blocked by traditional payment providers but still received crypto. I thought their crypto payments were tracked (open ledger) and basically nixxed? I.e. this was the grand counter-example of crypto use case :-< We can discuss our personal opinion on the Canadian protests of Winter of 2022, but I strongly believe that for average citizen, Crypto payments leave a HUGE exposure / attack surface. YES, there's going to be a Hacker News person who can figure out how to safely transfer crypto, and maybe even do something practical with it, in duress situations; but I feel that would end up complex enough to be achievable effectively with other crypto-less, equal-complexity methods. Meanwhile, average citizen's ability to safely and anonymously and SAFELY use crypto under duress is extremely limited. https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgmnpd/the-freedom-convoy-bitcoin-donations-have-been-frozen-and-seized https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgmnpd/the-freedom-convoy-bi...

zen_1 4y ago
That's not a trait of crypto in general, just bitcoin (and ETH, and most other non privacy-focused coins). Take a look at Monero or ZCash to see how untraceable the trucker convoy (or similar) donations would have been if they had just used a different cryptocurrency.
SwanRonson 4y ago
Personal opinions aside it is a valid use case. They can track the wallet and they will, but they cannot close/lock the wallet as they did bank accounts. As you’ve implied there are methods to achieve anonymity but they require technical knowledge. If this becomes a commonly understood use case it will likely become easier for the average person.
- NikolaNovak 4y ago
  I believe in this case they did close/lock the wallet, as it was held by the exchange. How far they go to recoup money that did make it to individuals is up to the attorney general and courts and politicians to decide - but critically, means are extremely there. It is empathically and trivially known who the recipients are. This is the part that feels like we are intentionally ignoring - eventually crypto intersects with the real world. There were technically superior and more anonymous ways to do that kind of particular transaction of course. But we may differ as to what "average person" is and what their technical competence will be in the near to medium future. I believe average person still has tremendous phishing and scam risk with a regular, regulated, fairly static, designed for ease of use, documented, go-to-branch-and-we'll-guide-you-through-it electronic banking. I am skeptical of our ability to create a safe path for the average person through the dynamic, unregulated, ever-changing, technically complex, myriad-clients-and-zillion-methods-and-gazillion-exchanges all chock-full of scammers world of crypto.

zen_1 4y ago

That's not a trait of crypto in general, just bitcoin (and ETH, and most other non privacy-focused coins). Take a look at Monero or ZCash to see how untraceable the trucker convoy (or similar) donations would have been if they had just used a different cryptocurrency.

SwanRonson 4y ago

Personal opinions aside it is a valid use case. They can track the wallet and they will, but they cannot close/lock the wallet as they did bank accounts. As you’ve implied there are methods to achieve anonymity but they require technical knowledge. If this becomes a commonly understood use case it will likely become easier for the average person.

NikolaNovak 4y ago
I believe in this case they did close/lock the wallet, as it was held by the exchange. How far they go to recoup money that did make it to individuals is up to the attorney general and courts and politicians to decide - but critically, means are extremely there. It is empathically and trivially known who the recipients are. This is the part that feels like we are intentionally ignoring - eventually crypto intersects with the real world. There were technically superior and more anonymous ways to do that kind of particular transaction of course. But we may differ as to what "average person" is and what their technical competence will be in the near to medium future. I believe average person still has tremendous phishing and scam risk with a regular, regulated, fairly static, designed for ease of use, documented, go-to-branch-and-we'll-guide-you-through-it electronic banking. I am skeptical of our ability to create a safe path for the average person through the dynamic, unregulated, ever-changing, technically complex, myriad-clients-and-zillion-methods-and-gazillion-exchanges all chock-full of scammers world of crypto.