The opinions being expressed regarding cryptography, cryptocurrencies, freedom, and privacy has been absolutely depressing. The state and corporations have exerted their influence, particularly in the last fifteen years or so.

It helps the fact that the vast majority of people on HN are against any project that use cryptocurrencies.

People don't seem to realize that there is little fundamental distinction between a crypto privacy service, and encrypted messaging apps like Signal and matrix.

A bitcoin private key is just "KwTHJw865SLeTAjK7otYb5bL5mwutBb2vDxxF7kGf5XvY7QttnvM" after all.

> People don't seem to realize that there is little fundamental distinction between a crypto privacy service, and encrypted messaging apps like Signal and matrix

A dollar in a bank account is similarly abstractable. Anyone equating crypto to speech is undermining actual privacy rights.

There's a distinction, you can't transfer a dollar in a bank account by sending text messages. You could instruct your bank to transfer; but the actual irreversible _movement_ happens out of band.

You _can_ transfer a cryptocurrency by sending its private key on an encrypted messaging app.

What happens if someone makes a mixer that operates over Signal messages? This is not a bad-faith argument: The entire CoinJoin protocol used to operate over IRC; before they developed their own communications system for increased efficiency.

> What happens if someone makes a mixer that operates over Signal messages?

Honestly, if someone just develops a mixer and publishes the code they’re probably fine. That’s speech. GitHub or a journal, it is protected.

Tornado’s developers didn’t do that. They made a token that with monetary value that they get paid; they hired people and had a website promoting the service; et cetera. If this were just a GitHub repo, yes, the comparison to speech would be apt. It’s not. And I’m none too thrilled about folks throwing actual free speech and privacy under the bus to defend crypto.

That’s not they key, that’s a representation of the key.

I don't think the cryptobros realise quite how much they've made the general forum public hate them, which is why everyone's cheering this arrest.

You make it sound like righteous people rejoicing, to me it feels like those medieval citizen cheering at a public execution or the burning of a witch.

Both thought they were right and the evil people got what they deserved. The fact that you divide the tech world into evil cryptobros vs good citizens is telling.