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A comment on Ask HN: As people in “tech”, are we inside an AI echo chamber?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: As people in “tech”, are we inside an AI echo cha... by carlosjobim on Monday July 03, 2023 @09:12AM (#36572409)
> Crypto never amounted to anything beyond a currency for black market transaction

Do you understand what a massive impact that has been? It has disrupted one of the largest industries on the planet, which is drug trafficking.

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Re:Ask HN: As people in “tech”, are we inside an AI echo cha... by Traubenfuchs on Monday July 03, 2023 @09:19AM (#36572481)
Did it disrupt the whole industry? Only the payment part of it, no?
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Re:Ask HN: As people in “tech”, are we inside an AI echo cha... by pier25 on Monday July 03, 2023 @10:09AM (#36573103)
Well no because the dark markets enabled any small dealer to sell worldwide.
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Re:Ask HN: As people in “tech”, are we inside an AI echo cha... by carlosjobim on Monday July 03, 2023 @12:54PM (#36575670)
With crypto people can buy drugs anonymously. You couldn't do that before.
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Re:Ask HN: As people in “tech”, are we inside an AI echo cha... by veidr on Monday July 03, 2023 @10:08AM (#36573078)
I mean... sure, it outcompeted Tide detergent. But the illegal drug trade has historically used all kinds of currencies. I'd say "disrupted" is hugely overstating the case.
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Re:Ask HN: As people in “tech”, are we inside an AI echo cha... by DonHopkins on Monday July 03, 2023 @10:29AM (#36573409)
If you looked at Donald Trump Jr's runny nose and "impassioned" behavior, you wouldn't think that.

"Cocaine News" with Donald Trump Jr. | The Daily Show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47yFRXZqB0g

Don Jr. Swears He’s Not on Coke—He’s Just ‘Impassioned’:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-jr-is-tired-of-co...

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Re:Ask HN: As people in “tech”, are we inside an AI echo cha... by twic on Monday July 03, 2023 @12:16PM (#36575080)
So what fraction of all drugs are now paid for with cryptocurrency at retail? Over 50%? 25%? Presumably you must know the figure, if you're asserting the industry has been disrupted.
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Re:Ask HN: As people in “tech”, are we inside an AI echo cha... by carlosjobim on Monday July 03, 2023 @12:53PM (#36575653)
You are at liberty to believe what pleases you the most. If you're interested in finding the truth, you'll have to first understand that drug markets are underground, which means you will not find any verified accounting. The UN estimated [1] in 2020 the size of the darknet drug trade to about $315 million per year or at most $725 million per year - which is nothing compared to the overall drug trade, but disruptive for certain categories of drugs that are easily sent by mail.

People are buying drugs on the darknet, who would never buy it on the streets or want to be associated with regular drug users.

[1] https://www.unodc.org/res/wdr2021/field/WDR21_Booklet_2.pdf

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