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You're really saying; banks, money exchanges and hot dog stands have no other utility other than to "wash" money?
by zeusk 4y ago
You're really saying; banks, money exchanges and hot dog stands have no other utility other than to "wash" money?
- bitxbitxbitcoin 4y agoIt’s reductionist but yes - “washing” money is a core part of their function. Note OP didn’t say laundering.
- woodruffw 4y agoNo, it isn't. Banks exist to induce stability and liquidity (i.e., the efficient flow of capital) within the economy. Hot dog stands exist to sell hot dogs. Money exchanges exist to transfer currencies to (you guessed it) facilitate commerce in different regions. The hair you're attempting to split between "laundering" and "washing" does not exist in the financial world, and would not impress financial regulators.
- bitxbitxbitcoin 4y agoThe difference between laundering and washing doesn’t exist in current financial regulation. It does to those who believe in financial privacy.
- zeusk 4y agoEnlighten us with how washing differs from laundering then; because I haven't had the crypto koolaid yet.
- pigtailgirl 4y ago-- as it was explained to me (I don't crypto) - because everything is public - you might want to disassociate (wash) transactions from yourself for perfectly legitimate reasons - not really needed in traditional finance as people typically don't have access to your bank account - however - this is not necessarily the same as wanting to take money you gained illegitimately and make it legitimate (launder) --
- woodruffw 4y agoThis is the hair splitting I mentioned: no government in the world cares that you're doing money laundering because you're opted into a public-by-default money transfer system. The answer is to simply not use an immutable public ledger for your finances, since you're not required to. The government will not carve out a subset of crimes because of an unnecessary self-imposed restriction on financial privacy.
- pigtailgirl 4y ago-- by the same token - it's a bit uncouth to support and provide frameworks of legitimacy for "future focused technology projects" - however not enable services that account for edge cases in said new systems - I generally agree with you - but playing the devils advocate a bit - the crypto folks should probably be able to wash their "cash" if the reporting parameters are implemented correctly - no? --
- woodruffw 4y agoSure: if they comply with KYC and AML, they are welcome to use whatever fakakta financial system they please.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- eropple 4y agoThere's no such thing as financial privacy when you, by virtue of being a citizen of a country, consent to be taxed on income and investment. Your financial actions may not be necessarily public to your fellow citizens but they absolutely and without possible argument must be to your tax assessor, and this exists to hide transactions from them. Of course it's illegal. You can revoke that consent, as it is possible to become a citizen of no country, but I wouldn't recommend it.
- mr_spothawk 4y agoThere's no such thing as consent when you're coerced.
- eropple 4y agoMy poor, so-very-put-upon friend: you can choose to leave. But there is a collectively hashed-out social contract you accept by staying, and it should be of no surprise that the law takes that contract as table stakes and acts according to it.
- mr_spothawk 4y agoTell it to Rosa Parks.
- woodruffw 4y agoAt which point did Rosa Parks transfer her money using an immutable public ledger? Comparing your financial scheme to Jim Crow isn't the most distasteful thing I've seen on HN, but it's up there!
- mr_spothawk 4y ago> your financial scheme It's not my financial scheme, it's the social contract.