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Re:Bitcoin is a Cult by ComputerGuru on Sunday June 24, 2018 @01:30AM (#17385091)
That’s media sensationalism. BTC is not remotely anonymous and is useless as a tax evasion mechanism. Your money still has to go through someone to turn into BTC, and that’s the same as any other money laundering operation. Once their books are audited, your “safe haven” is worth nothing.
Re:Bitcoin is a Cult by simias on Sunday June 24, 2018 @05:18AM (#17385744)
I don't completely agree, you can move BTC around, mix it and exchange it for other cryptocurrencies while leaving only a very small trail. You don't have to involve other people directly, you don't have to carry duffel-bags of cash across borders etc...

Of course if your money starts in your "books" before being converted into cryptocurrency then yeah, it's useless. But that's not the use case, it's more about laundering money that's not in the books to begin with (corruption, black market, undeclared sales etc...).

I believe that right now the main deterrent to this scenario is the same reason people don't use cryptocurrencies for legit use cases: it's wildly unstable and you have to convert it to dollars or some other "fiat" to do anything with it.

Re:Bitcoin is a Cult by creatornator on Sunday June 24, 2018 @11:56AM (#17386983)
If you got the bitcoin originally through mining, then it never has to be converted from another currency. Bitcoin is anonymous, but only if you mine instead of purchasing on an exchange.
Re:Bitcoin is a Cult by Iv on Thursday June 28, 2018 @09:04PM (#17421700)
The only transaction that is going to appear is currency->BTC. After that, there are many efficient ways of obfuscating a BTC->BTC transcation. There are legitimate uses of BTC, so nothing necessarily suspicious.

However, if you want to receive bribes, you just create a new wallet, you receive the bribes in BTC and either change them somehow in dollars or pay a premium to receive some services directly paid in btc (I am sure many people would be happy to receive BTC payment at a 30% discount).

Tax evasion works the same: you receive some payments that you do not declare in BTC. It works exactly the same way people use cash to evade taxes, except that here you don't have to transport luggages full of banknotes.

Another feature of BTC is that it can't be seized. Cash, gold, paintings, they all can be. BTCs are much easier to protect.

Re:Bitcoin is a Cult by LateRuin on Sunday June 24, 2018 @01:56AM (#17385163)
Vice has a good video on drug dealers lining up to use a Bitcoin ATM every day somewhere in an American ghetto. Bitcoin is 100% about drug dealing, gambling, and tax avoidance.

You would have to be a total moron to go through all the hoops to use it otherwise. Its kinda like running desktop linux in that way.

Re:Bitcoin is a Cult by JumpCrisscross on Sunday June 24, 2018 @02:08AM (#17385207)
A lot of Bitcoin volume is criminal in nature. What is contested is that a large fraction of criminal fund flows go through Bitcoin.

For the same reasons it sucks for individuals (volatile, slow, expensive, publicly recorded, difficult to spend and difficult to convert), it sucks for criminals.

Re:Bitcoin is a Cult by scrollaway on Sunday June 24, 2018 @03:02AM (#17385371)
> You would have to be a total moron to go through all the hoops to use it otherwise. Its kinda like running desktop linux in that way.

So, what, you'd have to be a total moron to go through the hoops of installing Linux as well? Do you think before you comment?

Your 100% figure is wrong given that I, at least, don't match any of your description. You can't go around claiming this kind of nonsense.

Re:Bitcoin is a Cult by askmike on Sunday June 24, 2018 @03:43AM (#17385459)
In most countries there are no hoops. In most places in Europe it's harder go get a bank account than to get bitcoin. Does that mean only morons go through all the hoops of obtaining bank accounts?