4 ms·

Interesting attack: find a digital currency recognized by the IRS that is, for whatever reason, impossible to cash out, and donate a giant amount to target of c

Interesting attack: find a digital currency recognized by the IRS that is, for whatever reason, impossible to cash out, and donate a giant amount to target of choice.

delecti 4y ago
That's slightly limited by the fact that they'd probably need a wallet to begin with. Like, I couldn't be the target of an ETH bomb because I don't have any ethereum wallets. Receiving too big of a donation seems like not the worst problem if you were already open to receiving donations in that currency.
- rvcdbn 4y ago
  You don’t need a wallet to be a victim of this. For example, someone could create an address only you can access with your Github public SSH key or the TLS public key of the project website (any public key that only you have the private key to will work).
  - bee_rider 4y ago
    This seems like the sort of thing we'll need some cases to resolve. If someone hides some valuable assets somewhere on your property and without telling you, presumably the IRS has some less-painful way of resolving this as long as you make a good faith effort to do so as soon as you become aware of it.
  - Macha 4y ago
    This was part of the big gittip controversy a few years ago where open source projects didn't want to do the tax paperwork they were now obligated to do by gittip holding funds in their name for like $50/year.
  - moolcool 4y ago
    Why would the "victim" care (or even find out about) this "attack"? My understanding is that because eth is fungible, it would poison an existing wallet with funds in it. I.e. if you have $5 in coins, and I give you $5 more in stolen coins, your entire coinpurse is essentially tainted. Your example would just be giving somebody a tainted wallet. Worst case scenario, you cycle your keys.
    - salawat 4y ago
      It's not an issue. Regulator established dead-drop address, you move the requested amount. You're good to go. Forensic accounting is quite simple in that regard.
  - mrgoldenbrown 4y ago
    If somebody buries a pile of gold in the desert, then sends a treasure map to my P.O. Box, I don't think the IRS is going to be knocking down my door, unless I actually go get the gold and do something with it. Until I take possession of the gold, nobody even knows if there is gold or not.
  - EGreg 4y ago
    Those keys don’t actually work with the elliptic curve that Ethereum keys use
neodypsis 4y ago
Scary. I guess you could transfer them back in other cases...
- colecut 4y ago
  that's a taxable event
  - neodypsis 4y ago
    What can someone that finds herself in this position do? Is there an IRS address you can send them to?
    - mminer237 4y ago
      You'd probably pay the IRS for a private letter ruling telling you what you should do. They're more expensive then they should be, but you really do not want to mess up and be stuck with a $100,000 tax bill on unspendable money.
hgsgm 4y ago

Interesting attack: find a digital currency recognized by the IRS that is, for whatever reason, impossible to cash out, and donate a giant amount to target of choice.

delecti 4y ago

That's slightly limited by the fact that they'd probably need a wallet to begin with. Like, I couldn't be the target of an ETH bomb because I don't have any ethereum wallets. Receiving too big of a donation seems like not the worst problem if you were already open to receiving donations in that currency.

rvcdbn 4y ago
You don’t need a wallet to be a victim of this. For example, someone could create an address only you can access with your Github public SSH key or the TLS public key of the project website (any public key that only you have the private key to will work).
- bee_rider 4y ago
  This seems like the sort of thing we'll need some cases to resolve. If someone hides some valuable assets somewhere on your property and without telling you, presumably the IRS has some less-painful way of resolving this as long as you make a good faith effort to do so as soon as you become aware of it.
- Macha 4y ago
  This was part of the big gittip controversy a few years ago where open source projects didn't want to do the tax paperwork they were now obligated to do by gittip holding funds in their name for like $50/year.
- moolcool 4y ago
  Why would the "victim" care (or even find out about) this "attack"? My understanding is that because eth is fungible, it would poison an existing wallet with funds in it. I.e. if you have $5 in coins, and I give you $5 more in stolen coins, your entire coinpurse is essentially tainted. Your example would just be giving somebody a tainted wallet. Worst case scenario, you cycle your keys.
  - salawat 4y ago
    It's not an issue. Regulator established dead-drop address, you move the requested amount. You're good to go. Forensic accounting is quite simple in that regard.
- mrgoldenbrown 4y ago
  If somebody buries a pile of gold in the desert, then sends a treasure map to my P.O. Box, I don't think the IRS is going to be knocking down my door, unless I actually go get the gold and do something with it. Until I take possession of the gold, nobody even knows if there is gold or not.
- EGreg 4y ago
  Those keys don’t actually work with the elliptic curve that Ethereum keys use

neodypsis 4y ago

Scary. I guess you could transfer them back in other cases...

colecut 4y ago
that's a taxable event
- neodypsis 4y ago
  What can someone that finds herself in this position do? Is there an IRS address you can send them to?
  - mminer237 4y ago
    You'd probably pay the IRS for a private letter ruling telling you what you should do. They're more expensive then they should be, but you really do not want to mess up and be stuck with a $100,000 tax bill on unspendable money.

hgsgm 4y ago