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US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

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Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#241

Post by BobbyJo »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #90
pen2l wrote: post #20

Did his PhD at Caltech under Christof Koch in computation and neural systems, was a super talented mathematician... and then he gets involved in crypto. I remember conversations with friends only a few years ago in which we would lament how young brilliant minds were eventually going on to work on adtech, and we would sigh and hope that the tide would turn. Boy, we were not prepared for this tide. Anyway, the NYSD re…

Sounds like he simply didn't support the sanctions and doesn't believe in blind obedience to US law.

AND was totally fine with large-scale, systematic, oppression and torture (so long as he profits from it).

That's kind of the key ingredient needed to be someone that HELPS KIM JUNG UN.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#242

Post by s1artibartfast »

tptacek wrote: post #225
vkou wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And here I thought that since march of this year, we're of the general impression that countries have the right to defend themselves, and to seek external allies when bullied by a bigger neighbour...

We didn't invade after the Cuban Missile Crisis; in fact, Cuba remained closely aligned with the USSR until the end of the USSR. If Russia merely sanctioned Ukraine, nobody would be discussing this. Your rebuttal is facile.

The comparison is striking.

Kennedy ordered a naval "quarantine" to prevent missiles from reaching Cuba. By using the term "quarantine" rather than "blockade" (an act of war by legal definition), the United States was able to avoid the implications of a state of war.

After several days of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached between Kennedy and Khrushchev. Publicly, the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba in exchange for a US public declaration and agreement to not invade Cuba again.

When it came to Russia and Ukraine, the US refused ultimatums to stay out of Ukraine, and Russia did invade Ukraine a second time.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#243

Post by AlexCoventry »

chrisco255 wrote: post #226
behringer wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine knowing literally anything about north Korea and wanting to help that government. He should be put away for life for aiding crimes against humanity.

Lol what if by spreading crypto knowledge in totalitarian states, you give people in those states a viable way to preserve their income and assets in a way that no other asset class can? Imagine someone trying to protest or escape a regime imposing capital controls on citizens such as North Korea or Canada. What if, those citizens could simply memorize or encode a 12-24 word phrase that could preserve their net worth…

That's not the case with North Korea. Most people don't have access to computers, let alone the internet, so they can't use crypto for their personal finances.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#244

Post by tomatowurst »

chatmasta wrote: post #48

I met Virgil at an academic workshop back in 2014. We went out in Amsterdam. He was a weird guy, to say the least (he’d probably be the first to agree). He was generally quite affable and obviously highly intelligent. He’s an idiot for this fiasco. But it’s also sad to see him in jail; I don’t see how this benefits society in any way. Five years in prison seems like a disproportionate punishment for an arguably victi…

How in the world do you see this victimless? North Korea has been violating human rights in it's own borders and South Korea. It has nukes pointed at Seoul holding it and US troops hostage.

I can't believe he only got 5 years in jail for this. It should've been life imprisonment for aiding and abetting terrorist organizations like North Korea.

Can you say the same for someone caught laundering money for Hamas or ISIS? That it's a victimless crime?

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#245

Post by markdown »

chrisco255 wrote: post #226
behringer wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine knowing literally anything about north Korea and wanting to help that government. He should be put away for life for aiding crimes against humanity.

Lol what if by spreading crypto knowledge in totalitarian states, you give people in those states a viable way to preserve their income and assets in a way that no other asset class can? Imagine someone trying to protest or escape a regime imposing capital controls on citizens such as North Korea or Canada. What if, those citizens could simply memorize or encode a 12-24 word phrase that could preserve their net worth…

You sound like someone who's never lived outside a western first world country.

Like those folk who pushed crypto as the saviour of the average Venezuelan. I mean, your next door neighbour doesn't understand bitcoin, how is someone in the third world who has never used a computer supposed to figure this shit out, and why should anyone trust crypto at all when most of it is scams?

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#246

Post by Paradigma11 »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #174
marcinzm wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're assuming the goal is some sort of democratic revolution rather than keeping the economies of those countries constrained so they have less money to spend on weapons.

Interesting implications for the case of Cuba. If so, their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA. So much for arguments of respecting national autonomy.

Cuba was far from an innocent victim but a very active opponent: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Cuba#Post-...

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#247

Post by woah »

ethbr0 wrote: post #68
spamizbad wrote: post #15

Not surprised: it seems a common theme with crypto evangelists is the application of the blockchain to avoid sanctions. I don't think its deeply ideological (as in anti-America/Pro-NK) - it's more like they view US financial hegemony as a "competitor" to blockchain technology and a hinderance to global cryptocurrency adoption. Why he would throw his life away like this seems silly. I don't see the point in taking pay…

It's the ultimate place any honest monetary cipherpunk ends up at. Either you have government controlled financial systems, or you have decentralized financial systems. Getting to any middleground is pretty tortured, both technically and morally. Sort of like "Strong encryption permits a world in which child pornography cannot be tracked" with respect to encryption. It's ugly, but true. (Said as someone who doesn't c…

No, I think this is a misconception. Sanctions can work without government controlled money. Prosecuting terrorism or organized crime can be done without government controlled money. Catching tax evaders can be done without government controlled money. Everything can work without government controlled money, it just requires more on the ground police work. All of these things were done without government controlled money not very long ago.

Similar to how the job of police would be a lot easier if every citizen was required to carry a surveillance microphone, their job is easier if all transactions are can be censored and surveilled. But it is not necessary.

For example, sanctions: Find people who are trading with a sanctioned regime by looking at if they are importing goods from there. Very easy. If they are paying for labor (remote IT work or something), you can also catch that. Informants, etc.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#248

Post by outworlder »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #182
thereddaikon wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I don't see how anyone could consider it victimless. By helping North Korea circumvent sanctions he indirectly has blood on his hands. This is a country that sentences multiple generations of a family to work camps.

The USA has a similar incarceration rate to North Korea, albeit with better conditions.

The fragment "albeit with better conditions" is doing a lot of work here.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#249

Post by crispyambulance »

chrisco255 wrote: post #226
behringer wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine knowing literally anything about north Korea and wanting to help that government. He should be put away for life for aiding crimes against humanity.

Lol what if by spreading crypto knowledge in totalitarian states, you give people in those states a viable way to preserve their income and assets in a way that no other asset class can? Imagine someone trying to protest or escape a regime imposing capital controls on citizens such as North Korea or Canada. What if, those citizens could simply memorize or encode a 12-24 word phrase that could preserve their net worth…

> What if, those citizens could simply memorize or encode a 12-24 word phrase that could preserve their net worth against all forms of tyranny?

... What if, they then LOST ALL OF IT in an instant because of a scam, a random crypto-market fluctuation or because it just becomes worthless because they have no way to ever translate it into something of value, let alone actually spend the "currency".

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#250

Post by dragonwriter »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #242
tptacek wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We didn't invade after the Cuban Missile Crisis; in fact, Cuba remained closely aligned with the USSR until the end of the USSR. If Russia merely sanctioned Ukraine, nobody would be discussing this. Your rebuttal is facile.

The comparison is striking. Kennedy ordered a naval "quarantine" to prevent missiles from reaching Cuba. By using the term "quarantine" rather than "blockade" (an act of war by legal definition), the United States was able to avoid the implications of a state of war. After several days of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached between Kennedy and Khrushchev. Publicly, the Soviets would dismantle their offensive…

> Russia did invade Ukraine a second time.

In the real world, Russia never stopped the first invasion, it just consolidated, worked to advance, and then massively escalated.

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