Re:U.S. Secret Service Launches Cryptocurrency Awareness Hub
by concinds on Wednesday February 23, 2022 @10:13AM
(#30441886)
I agree that get rich quick schemes are sad, but on the other hand, when I turn off my adblock, 99% of ads I get on YouTube are for copytrading with traditional stocks on eToro. Financially illiterate people get given a rope to hang themselves with crypto, but it doesn't take away from the benefits of crypto, which I think has a (small) place in any portfolio, and could potentially be a lifesaver in any cashless+NIRP society. I wouldn't try to pilot a plane without training, and wouldn't buy any crypto without knowing deeply about it. I don't see it as a red flag of the technology that people do stupid things, just a sign of human laziness (surely, getting the proper knowledge before piloting a plane, trading stocks, or buying crypto is common sense).
There are many people who want governments to "step in" and protect people from themselves, but governments will likely have ulterior motives (KYC, AML, financial control) when they do so.
Re:U.S. Secret Service Launches Cryptocurrency Awareness Hub
by mlac on Thursday February 24, 2022 @08:54AM
(#30454660)
KYC & AML are useful things that protect customers and prevent people doing things with money that we as a society have deemed unlawful (e.g. tax evasion, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, etc.).
Is giving up the ability to detect those things good?
I wouldn’t use a bank that didn’t care to identify who was withdrawing my money…
My hatred of get-rich-quick schemes has nothing to do with class signaling. I hate such schemes because they're almost universally scams designed to siphon money from poor people to someone who already has money. I hate them because I see friends and family spending their entire lives throwing away everything chasing get-rich-quick.
So, yes, that crypto has become a focal point for get-rich-quick is a huge red flag to me, but it's unfair of you to summarily dismiss that concern as snobbish.