Earlier quoted context omitted.
The simplest answer is that returning it isn't free.
Ok so use it to pay the fee, returning the rest.
You just washed part of the BTCs which is now owned by the miner.
$7.5B In Stolen Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack has just been moved
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Re: $7.5B In Stolen Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack has just been moved
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
> if you receive BTC from one of these addresses as payment for something, do you refuse it? You cannot refuse a BTC transaction. You could return it in a subsequent transaction, and pay the transaction fee, but I would imagine your address would be forever tainted by a number of illicit address/transaction tracking algorithms.
That's an interesting angle to cash out... just start sending to 1,000s of addresses - who's to say which addresses are owned by the criminals, and which are owned by other people? They'd get less than cashing it all out themselves obviously, but it would take forever to unravel what actually happened (if possible ever)
I had the same idea, and it would be funny, but investigators wouldn't have to unravel the whole thing.
They'd just have to look at anyone unwise enough to use the money instead of turning it over to authorities (or abandoning the wallet).
Re: $7.5B In Stolen Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack has just been moved
#63Re: $7.5B In Stolen Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack has just been moved
#64Re: $7.5B In Stolen Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack has just been moved
#65Here’s an interesting question — if you receive BTC from one of these addresses as payment for something, do you refuse it? You know it’s stolen and you might worry someone else who you might pay in the future would be able to track down that it’s stolen, so do you ask for “clean” BTC that isn’t linked to known theft? I don’t necessarily know the answer here. This is something that you can’t do with paper bills
Monero tackles this problem. Coins are fungible and transactions are private.
https://www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/fungibility....
Re: $7.5B In Stolen Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack has just been moved
#66Here’s an interesting question — if you receive BTC from one of these addresses as payment for something, do you refuse it? You know it’s stolen and you might worry someone else who you might pay in the future would be able to track down that it’s stolen, so do you ask for “clean” BTC that isn’t linked to known theft? I don’t necessarily know the answer here. This is something that you can’t do with paper bills
> if you receive BTC from one of these addresses as payment for something, do you refuse it? You cannot refuse a BTC transaction. You could return it in a subsequent transaction, and pay the transaction fee, but I would imagine your address would be forever tainted by a number of illicit address/transaction tracking algorithms.
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Re: $7.5B In Stolen Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack has just been moved
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
You could use also do that to embarrass/blackmail politicians or other prominent people. Imagine the threat "You either do what I want or I'll send you 1 million dollars" :)
What politicians accept Bitcoin as donations?
I think whole bunch of them do, Eric Swalwell accepts like 6 of them.
Re: $7.5B In Stolen Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack has just been moved
#68Here’s an interesting question — if you receive BTC from one of these addresses as payment for something, do you refuse it? You know it’s stolen and you might worry someone else who you might pay in the future would be able to track down that it’s stolen, so do you ask for “clean” BTC that isn’t linked to known theft? I don’t necessarily know the answer here. This is something that you can’t do with paper bills
> if you receive BTC from one of these addresses as payment for something, do you refuse it?
It's a crime to spend money you do not own. Like if you would find 500k in paper bills in your car. There is no source of funds it would be your legal asset. You hand it over to police.
Re: $7.5B In Stolen Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack has just been moved
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
This isn't so far fetched. Cash registers already have Internet connections and can be outfitted with cameras to record all bills going in, except maybe those inserted in a stack. And ATMs might already be recording serial numbers of dispensed bills. Essentially they might/could do with currency what they do with license plates, which is track where everything goes and at what times.
Like 0 cash registers I have ever seen employ this.
It's a feature on some money counters, which seem like something banks might use at the end of the day to check the balances in the drawers.
Re: $7.5B In Stolen Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack has just been moved
#70Here’s an interesting question — if you receive BTC from one of these addresses as payment for something, do you refuse it? You know it’s stolen and you might worry someone else who you might pay in the future would be able to track down that it’s stolen, so do you ask for “clean” BTC that isn’t linked to known theft? I don’t necessarily know the answer here. This is something that you can’t do with paper bills
Monero tackles this problem. Coins are fungible and transactions are private. https://www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/fungibility....
That both does, and doesn't solve this problem. If someone pays for services with stolen assets the ideal scenario is that the criminal is apprehended, the service provider doesn't lose money, and the funds can be returned to their rightful owner.
Monero protects the service provider, but doesn't solve the other problems.