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

nytimes.com

41–50 of 279 posts

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

#41
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.

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.

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

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please understand that circumventing copyright makes it more difficult for journalists to make a living.

Is there a micropayment option or something? I wish I could friction-free, buy access to these sites al al carte without dealing with them directly or setting up a recurring subscription directly with them.

Best we can do is a monthly subscription, with every dark pattern known to man to prevent cancellation.

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

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't anyone basically sanction entire wallets, and mark them, and make some legislation that any transaction involving coins originating from those wallets be rejected by all payment processors and exchanges in regulated markets? I mean, they obviously can, but probably they have elected not to do so. But if crypto becomes a tool in the hands of enemy nation states, such regulation can't be soo far off. Though that…

You can't track individual coins, so you'd have to "taint" entire wallets. Using a mixer would taint the mixer and every wallet it sent to. I'd think this would end up tainting almost everything before too long. Bitcoin also doesn't require the receiver to authorize a transaction, so if you had control of a tainted wallet, you could taint other wallets at will, wielding it like a weapon. Doesn't seem feasible. Not th…

> Using a mixer would taint the mixer and every wallet it sent to. I'd think this would end up tainting almost everything before too long.

Is that actually an issue? I am looking for it but I can't see a downside.

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

#44
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Citation needed. Bear in mind that this guy pleaded guilty in a court case. Even if the prosecution is political, the facts don't lie.

When it comes to extremely rich people, "political prosecution" generally means that the behavior was absolutely criminal, but that it's usually something they let rich people get away with.

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

#45

https://archive.today/t2pG6

Please understand that circumventing copyright makes it more difficult for journalists to make a living.

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.

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

#46
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Citation needed. Bear in mind that this guy pleaded guilty in a court case. Even if the prosecution is political, the facts don't lie.

Bear in mind that this guy pleaded guilty in a court case.

In my mind that doesn't mean shit. Prosecution said, "if this goes to trial, we'll try to get life in prison. Or you could take our plea deal." That is why 90-some percent of prosecutions (EDIT: in the U. S.) go plea deal instead of trial.

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

#47
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every single transaction is public information. If you carry a wallet into Iran, and it's coins are used through 20 different transactions to purchase weapons, all of those can be traced back to their origin.

That's like saying every currency note is traceable because it has a serial number. If someone hands you a dollar today can you trace it starting from where it was printed to everything it was used for until it eventually got into your hands? Yeah you can look up bitcoin wallet IDs on the ledger, but you can also generate an unlimited number of wallets, and pass coins in any combination through any number of mixers a…

Except none of that happened. It didn't stay anonymous, it just went to Iran.

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

#48

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.

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.

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

#50
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's like saying every currency note is traceable because it has a serial number. If someone hands you a dollar today can you trace it starting from where it was printed to everything it was used for until it eventually got into your hands? Yeah you can look up bitcoin wallet IDs on the ledger, but you can also generate an unlimited number of wallets, and pass coins in any combination through any number of mixers a…

Except none of that happened. It didn't stay anonymous, it just went to Iran.

Did not happen != cannot happen
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