It's a tool, but not a silver bullet. Mixers exist, for example. But that's not even the main point. The key holder has the ultimate power to simply throw away the key. There is no recourse for that.
> It's a tool, but not a silver bullet. Mixers exist, for example.
Definitely, but I don't think that mixers would be considered an acceptable "excuse" for dubious coin origin.
> The key holder has the ultimate power to simply throw away the key. There is no recourse for that.
True, but what is the utility of that?
Not talking about coin origin are we.
I suppose the point is to not have something seized from you which you do not want taken.
Anyway, these questions are now outside of/unrelated to common sense understanding of what a "finalized" payment is.
To my knowledge, this hasn't happened yet, but I strongly suspect that it's only a question of time. Embargoes/sanction lists are one of the most powerful mechanisms of law enforcement for governments – I doubt that they will continue to let cryptocurrencies undermine that for too long.