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And more importantly, among the crypto crowd that dumped millions into his campaign. Libertarians have essentially no clout or money on their own. This was a pa
by noirbot 2y ago
And more importantly, among the crypto crowd that dumped millions into his campaign. Libertarians have essentially no clout or money on their own. This was a pardon bought by Coinbase and Gemini and A16z.
- twelve40 2y agoWhy would Coinbase and Gemini and A16z care about an obviously shady person who reportedly tried to hire a person to kill someone? surely they could find a more legitimate hero to advance the legal crypto case? i mean, it's kind of like them - companies trying to do legit crypto - rallying today around SBF when they already have image problems from other exchanges?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- talldayo 2y agoThere is no "legit crypto" - it's a myth. Every single exchange that swaps spit with the Bitcoin ledger is laundering money made by criminal (often violent or fraudulent) means. Many if not most altcoins are equally as fraudulent, or used to launder ("tumble") other suspicious coins. Let's be honest anyways, the cryptocurrency "industry" as we know it is less than 4 years old, and in 4 years it may be gone. Exchanges like coinbase and so-called defi innovators like A16Z need this legally-dubious signalling or they'll risk never having another leader corrupt enough to sanction their behavior.
- beeflet 2y agoI got cash out of an airport currency exchange ATM the other week, and when I tried to use it to by groceries yesterday, the cashier tested it for cocaine and it came back positive. There is no "legit cash".
- handsclean 2y ago“I stepped in a puddle once. There is no ‘dry land.’” —Man in ocean
- cycrutchfield 2y ago[flagged]
- denkmoon 2y agoAre cashiers really testing notes for cocaine? That's insane.
- AlexandrB 2y agoWhat's even the point? It's still legal tender, I don't think they can refuse it.
- tombert 2y agoI think that might be a myth? If I tried buying a $0.50 candy bar with a hundred-dollar bill, I think that the cashier might refuse it and I don't think they'd get in trouble for doing so. I thought the "legal tender" argument only worked in regards to debts to the government, though IANAL.
- eadler 2y agoRelevant Law: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/5103 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/5103 Good explanation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanlewis/2017/04/18/what-is-a-legal-tender-law-and-is-it-a-problem/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanlewis/2017/04/18/what-is-... Another distinction here is that a store is offering a contract. It isn't a debt until the contracted is accepted.
- mint2 2y agoWhy is a cashier testing money for cocaine residue? What country is requiring gimmicky pointless stuff like that?
- pyrale 2y agoIf even the worst are untouchable, who will try to examine the good-looking ones?
- noirbot 2y agoNot sure, but when they have various political candidates getting millions from the crypto PACs and all of them in unison talking about how Ross Ulbricht needs a pardon, I'm not sure what else to tell you. Maybe someone just knew Ulbricht personally and is using their money to spring him. But unless you can point to any other group with actual power and money who was pushing for it, the most obvious answer is that the main funders of the crypto PACs were at least ok with it. There's no way they couldn't have subtly squashed this pardon with Trump if it was just the Libertarians asking for it given that they seem to have gotten him to commit to do literally everything else they want.
- rchaud 2y agoBecause much like the billionnaires already flanking Trump, the heads of Coinbase and A16Z are out-of-touch charisma black holes that have no clue how to talk to the average Trump voter to get them on their side. Ross Ulbricht is the avatar for their ultimate goal of legitimizing crypto in the US financial system.