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Re:Steam bans all blockchain and NFT games on its platform by Cthulhu_ on Friday October 15, 2021 @02:59PM (#28881660)
Isn't there a lot of money lost in between all those steps? I mean steam keys cost money, bot farms, I doubt those gems have a very attractive exchange rate (it's a 'last resort' way to get rid of cards), buy / sell cards has Valve's cut, as does said game and the financial processors in between. It just sounds like a lot of effort.

Can people still trade guns outside of CSGO?

Re:Steam bans all blockchain and NFT games on its platform by ashtonkem on Friday October 15, 2021 @03:23PM (#28881968)
Generally money laundering schemes are very lossy, apparently 30-50% isn’t unheard of. This is because dirty money you can’t spend is nearly worthless, and because generally the people doing the actual laundering are agreeing to take on a large amount of legal and safety risk and demand to be compensated in proportion.
Re:Steam bans all blockchain and NFT games on its platform by Uehreka on Friday October 15, 2021 @03:15PM (#28881868)
From a money laundering “user” perspective, would you rather have $1 million that will likely send you to jail, or $700k that you can spend freely without concern?
Re:Steam bans all blockchain and NFT games on its platform by lapetitejort on Friday October 15, 2021 @03:38PM (#28882151)
> Isn't there a lot of money lost in between all those steps?

Very low, perhaps. Each bot cost $5 in order to trade. That's an upfront cost, and can be reduced if they buy their asset flip. A certain number of Steam keys can be generated free by the developer. Asset flip games might be near free, depending on the assets. Developer accounts cost money, but again that's upfront. Bots can farm in VMs. There's money "lost" on Steam and gray market trades, but that money never really existed. Yes, it takes lots of time, but it's automated and scales decently.

Re:Steam bans all blockchain and NFT games on its platform by duskwuff on Friday October 15, 2021 @03:21PM (#28881951)
> I mean steam keys cost money

Not if you're the developer of the game.

Re:Steam bans all blockchain and NFT games on its platform by hypertele-Xii on Friday October 15, 2021 @04:13PM (#28882603)
Though there is still the upfront cost of publishing ($100/game I think?).
Re:Steam bans all blockchain and NFT games on its platform by ur-whale on Friday October 15, 2021 @03:02PM (#28881709)
>Isn't there a lot of money lost in between all those steps?

I suspect OP is being sarcastic.

Re:Steam bans all blockchain and NFT games on its platform by wheybags on Friday October 15, 2021 @03:08PM (#28881794)
I dont think they are. Money laundering, like any other financial service, costs money.
Re:Steam bans all blockchain and NFT games on its platform by eptcyka on Friday October 15, 2021 @04:47PM (#28882971)
Money laundering is never 100% efficient.