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Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

nytimes.com

171–180 of 279 posts

Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

#171
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the #1 use case for crypto was ransomware, followed by shitcoin rug-pulls, and the ability to commit theft without recourse. Sending money to Iran is just a minor edge case.

When I think about it, I know people that have been involved in all of those areas (always on the wrong non-criminal end). However, I'm not sure I know a single person that has made a regular transaction in some cryptocoin.

The currency part of cryptocurrency was always a lie.

Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

#172
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a US-sanctioned country so allied nations play along with the sanctions and Binance is located within that US sphere of influence so Iran is supposed to be currently banned, yes.

It's not like Western(-ish) nations have much of a choice here. As soon as your banks and financial system depend on the USD in any way, it comes with a mandatory dose of US imperialism and extraterritorial jurisdiction.

For people doing legitimate commerce this is a pro not a con.

Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

#173
post #11

Remember that the CEO of Binance was pardoned by Trump after pleading guilty to financial fraud.

Iran obviously missed the memo. All they have to do is setup a wealth fund and invest heavily in a Trump venture; then they can become a most favored nation and forego all this conflict.

They'd have to invest more than adelson, ~250M.

Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

#174
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Copyright isn't being circumvented - the content of the website is made available for the public and the website just grabs what is publicly available.

Redistributing copyrighted content is the literal definition of copyright infringement. Using it for your own purposes, without distribution, is another story. This link was posted with intent to facilitate the distribution of copyrighted material. The person who posted it justified posting the link by saying some people don't have a subscription. I understand that some people think copyright shouldn't exist, but it…

Legally it's infringement but I don't have a lot of sympathy for semi-porous paywalls getting circumvented. If they don't want free readers, they can set up a hard paywall. If they offer free samples and I occasionally take one I'm not going to feel bad about it, or worry about that specific type of copyright infringement making it more difficult for journalists to make a living.

Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

#175
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that there is a huge trusted network for this. The world does not revolve around americas and europe. Not everyone has issues cashing out millions of crypto from a bank. This has been especially prevelant with countries that host a lot of Russian immigrants ever since the SWIFT ban, the regulation is extremely lax and there is minimal data shared to western institutions. I have heard from friends who are in th…

The moment that crypto is cashed out at a bank, no matter how sketchy, a record is created in a ledger. This completely destroys the so-called anonymity of cryptocurrencies.

this was about the $5 wrench not about the tracing of it and sure you can know the origin but you don't know the final destination.

Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

#176
post #6

Isn't this like the #1 use case for crypto? Everyone wants an untrackable unblockable currency that is out of government control until the day it is used for things they don't like, then suddenly "government please control this!"

I thought the #1 use case for crypto was ransomware, followed by shitcoin rug-pulls, and the ability to commit theft without recourse. Sending money to Iran is just a minor edge case.

I just want to exploit over worked border security by buying semi legal drugs they dont have the capacity to follow up prescriptions for.

Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

#177
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the #1 use case for crypto was ransomware, followed by shitcoin rug-pulls, and the ability to commit theft without recourse. Sending money to Iran is just a minor edge case.

When I think about it, I know people that have been involved in all of those areas (always on the wrong non-criminal end). However, I'm not sure I know a single person that has made a regular transaction in some cryptocoin.

I did once. Even after setting up a wallet and buying BTC (this was back in the mid-2010s), it still took 15 minutes to pay for two glasses of wine at a cafe. I could have just tossed down €5 and been done with it in 20 seconds.

Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

#178
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also the #1 use case for $100 US dollar bills. Most US $100 bills, in fact, are not even in the US.[a][b] US $100 bills are the currency of choice for small-time crooks and evildoers around the world. They are also the currency of choice for big-time crooks and evildoers. Briefcases of US $100 bills have long been used for illicit payments, as depicted in numerous books and movies. Just because crooks and evildo…

There's a major distinction, however, in that it's a heck of a lot harder to safely and reliably lug briefcases or suitcases full of $100 bills from Chicago to Tehran, than it is to click and transfer some Bitcoin. Which is the whole point.

Yes, mostly they are distributed via pallets out the back of C130s

(Definitely in Iraq and Afghanistan, I don't know if there's any back channel deals at the moment paying off Iranians in 100$ bills but I wouldn't be surprised if we were nudging for regime change by funding revolutionaries)

Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Boeing. Straight cash. Naming anirports or other public spaces. The aforementioned shitcoin. What are the others?

Boeing has an enormous number of subcontractors. If boeing gets orders they'll make sure the subcontractors are in your district.

Not sure what that has to do with the Qatari bribe.

Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran

#180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a dozen better ways than Crypto to bribe politicians.

A Boeing. Straight cash. Naming anirports or other public spaces. The aforementioned shitcoin. What are the others?

Teen girls.
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