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?
A rival UN with $1B entry fee.
Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran
181–190 of 279 posts
Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran
#182Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hmm, doesn't this work equally well with a wad of $10 and $20 notes? I mean, yes, notes could be clandestinely marked. But aren't bitcoins also traceable after the first transaction?
yes but harder to move 10M in cash around from country to country. I'm assuming I'm purchasing/selling a lot of MtG/Funko here in this example.
There’s a large industry for cleaning cash which then makes moving a clean 10M or even 10B in clean cash nearly trivial.
10M might not be as noticeable but crypto being nominally in a country on its own isn’t that useful as you still want to be able to spend it at the end of the day.
Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a rather narrow view of crypto's uses. What about subverting democracy by bribing the President?
Has the lack of crypto ever stopped this from happening? Look up cases of gold bars being found in senators houses, those are actually MUCH less tracable. Shitcoins and Shitstocks(some SPACs) do allow of a legal way to "give" others money through the transfer of value in a way that is technically legal. This again is not crypto specific though.
> Has the lack of crypto ever stopped this from happening?
Undeniably yes, given the number of fraud and money laundering convictions achieved over the years.
> cases of gold bars [...] are actually MUCH less tracable.
Laughably false, given the difficulty of liquidating such things without detection. If you have to store your ill-gotten gains in your own home you've lost the opsec battle already.
I think you're just saying gold bars aren't digital information so don't a priori show up in a query somewhere. But the question that actually needs to be asked is "Did Menendez get caught with gold bars in his home?"
Yeah, he did. Ergo, they aren't very "untraceable" in practice.
Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran
#184Earlier 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.
Well, you could also use it to buy a pizza and find out it that your pizza cost a billion dollars a few years later.
Sixteen years! If that pizza were still around, it would be dreaming of going to prom, maybe college, figuring out life.
Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran
#185Earlier 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.
It's not hard even for Iran to trade gold and oil in USD.
> The Wall Street Journal reported, saying the hidden conduit enabled Tehran to receive up to $8.4 billion last year.
Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran
#186Earlier 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.
Well, you could also use it to buy a pizza and find out it that your pizza cost a billion dollars a few years later.
Literally - this is my friend =(
For him, it was something like a ~$30m pizza at peak. We're asked not to bring it up.
Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
Back in 2011 I remember a lot of people talking about how the Chinese oligarchs were using it to evade currency controls and funnel their wealth out of China.
Yes but we should be reminded that this also allows people to be protected from government overreach. If you say something the Chinese government does not agree with they can choose to take all your money and control of your company instantly. Not just oligarchs although those are the bigger targets due to the high value. Even a small business owner could THEORETICALLY have their assets and equity seized for saying s…
I like to live in a world were companies have to follow the law and pay taxes though. Crypto is one step in the direction of Cyberpunk corporations.
Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran
#188Isn'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!"
> Everyone wants an untrackable unblockable currency What are you talking about? Crypto is defined by its trackability (immutable, permission-less, verifiable ledger of every transaction in history). Please refrain from commenting on things you're unfamiliar with.
That's not universally true, there is a class of privacy coins whose txs are not (at least in theory) traceable.
I'd argue that's actually a more anarchist original view and transparent ledger is a bug of the first implementation, not a feature, and creates problem of the original money people are trying to solve (i.e. have electronic money without a government overreach, US using modern banking system as a political pressure tool, etc)
Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
Although it was originally intended to be cash it actually now is used as a "store of wealth" It allows people to build up wealth and be able to preserve it from government intervention and inflation. If you have stocks the ownerhsip and registration is controlled by a government and can be taken at any time from you. Look at china where if you have a large company and take a stand against the government all your equ…
This is not a common man's dream, but one of privilege and wealthy background. The oppressed masses don't need Bitcoin, they have no wealth to "memorize" and jetset around the world.
It's precisely the opposite actually; If you're wealthy you can switch citizenships, hide your assets in tax havens, and afford property and other assets to store your wealth. For the debanked, or those living in unstable or authoritarian countries it gives them a more stable way to store and transact, especially with massive inflation.
Pretty much everyone I know who talks shit about bitcoin is wealthy and privileged.
Re: Binance fired employees who found $1.7B in crypto was sent to Iran
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
What a deeply troubling and cynical comment. As far as I know, nowhere in the Bitcoin white paper or the original code base. Does it say anything about what you seem to think it's use cases are. Bitcoin has one main use, digital cash, that can be sent instantly and for free or a very low fee. Edit: I would agree though, that anything other than that is probably a scam.
Men of principles often mistake the experience and observations of others for cynicism when it does not align with said principles. This applies to a great deal, not just bitcoin.
So the USD as well?