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Chainalysis CTO said blockchain is easier to trace than paper money

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321–328 of 328 posts

Re: Chainalysis CTO said blockchain is easier to trace than paper money

#321
post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand how it's legal for vendors to actually refuse cash. I get it that there's multiple reasons they wouldn't want to and they can say it's their policy, etc but it's on the paper money itself "LEGAL tender for ALL debts public and PRIVATE". It's like when you hear the stories about people paying debts with buckets of coins. Obviously a huge PitA but technically allowed.

My understanding is that it can't be refused to settle a debt, for instance your restaurant/bar/hotel tab or for paying your car note, mortgage, taxes etc. However, a store owner can choose to only accept bottle caps or conch shells in exchange for their goods if that's what they want to do. If you go up to the register and you tell them you want the widget, you have to pay whatever they're asking in exchange. Doesn'…

He has to pay taxes which can only be settled with dollars.

Re: Chainalysis CTO said blockchain is easier to trace than paper money

#322
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>First it was supposed to be a currency >Then it was an asset that can only go up >Then it was an inflation hedge that would keep you up when markets went down All of these are just random narratives that you sometimes see being pushed on reddit or twitter. No credible person would make the last two claims. I get it, shitting on crypto has become hip especially in the last couple of years. But it doesn't change the f…

So can you tell us what the use case is? Because I've been watching for far longer than the last couple of years, and I've seen those three narratives being pushed exactly as GP described. If there's someone credible who knows, they're not making themselves heard and it's certainly not clear to me right now what it's for if not those. > I get it, shitting on crypto has become hip To be honest if GP was trying to shit…

There is no usecase just look at RAI or maybe the unlaunched Nuon, they are cryptocurrencies that try to minimize volatility. That turns the rest of the ecosystems into a bad joke. The point of these cryptocurrencies is to beat the central banks at their own game.

Re: Chainalysis CTO said blockchain is easier to trace than paper money

#323
post #33

> Unfortunately, this aspect of his brilliant design was one of the first things to be undermined by subsequent blockchain operators. Many cryptocurrencies that have been created since are unlimited in supply, including some of the most heavily speculated ones like Solana, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. > This is worse than what the central banks have done. No, it's not. Even a coin that is emitted one per second forever is…

Yeah, that one in particular was a pretty bad take. Who cares how many shitcoins people create? Just ignore them. That's like me claiming that the stock market has been undermined because people can start an unlimited number of companies.

It is a good take but it doesn't apply to random L1 currencies. It applies to L2 scaling layers with poor interoperability. Bridges create a wrapper of the bridged token. Once you have multiple bridges the ecosystem is fragmented. This means bridges and L2 scaling are a dead end.

Re: Chainalysis CTO said blockchain is easier to trace than paper money

#324

Here's an amusing exercise: count up how many top FBI executives over the neoliberal period (roughly beginning in the mid-1970s under Ford/Carter) have gone to work for various Wall Street-linked investment banks, hedge funds, law firms, etc. after 'retirement' (the number is comparable to that of generals and admirals who migrated to the corporate boards of defense contractors post-'retirement'). This reality suppor…

>A competing monetary system relative to the Federal Reserve isn't something these interests are all that thrilled about

That is true but honestly cryptocurrency isn't a threat to the Fed at all.

Re: Chainalysis CTO said blockchain is easier to trace than paper money

#326
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So can you tell us what the use case is? Because I've been watching for far longer than the last couple of years, and I've seen those three narratives being pushed exactly as GP described. If there's someone credible who knows, they're not making themselves heard and it's certainly not clear to me right now what it's for if not those. > I get it, shitting on crypto has become hip To be honest if GP was trying to shit…

There is no usecase just look at RAI or maybe the unlaunched Nuon, they are cryptocurrencies that try to minimize volatility. That turns the rest of the ecosystems into a bad joke. The point of these cryptocurrencies is to beat the central banks at their own game.

No use case, got it

Re: Chainalysis CTO said blockchain is easier to trace than paper money

#327
post #25

In theory traceability is not a problem if you can maintain a complete anonymity of your online persona - which in practice most people can't.

If you own significant sums of money and its completely anonymous, or the origin is untraceable, you can't use it. Just like drug cartels know how to collect and store anonymous money but find it very hard to use it. Every time you try to buy something expensive or normal financial assets, you have to explain where the money is from or you may lose it. Try to buy a house with anonymous crypto and find out.

But crypto wasn't invented for rich people and drug lords to launder the money, so why would anyone give a shit about their problems in the first place?

It still would make a lot of sense for regular folks who prefer their online habits not to be tracked by corporations and sold around.

Re: Chainalysis CTO said blockchain is easier to trace than paper money

#328
post #315
post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your investment horizon is long enough and your secure storage space cheap enough, Lego might be a more prudent investment. Basic strategy: buy and hold unopened copies of the 'flagship' sets of each Lego theme. If a theme is small enough, get complete sets of sets. For instance, the Muppets minifigs were sold in blind bags, but every case was guaranteed to hold three complete sets, so buy a whole case, not random…

Side note re: Lego, I have fond memories of the first Lego X-Wing and Snowspeeder. I’ll never forget losing pieces in the grass outside and calling up Lego. They asked me for the page number and sent me more pieces than I needed.

Lego customer service varies from good to exceptionally wonderful.
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