Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing any different?

Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by hurryer on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:12PM (#38372593)

You don't even need to go to crypto.

Try opening a joint bank account for you and 10 other strangers you don't know so that you can pool together some digital funds for mixing them up a little and see how the bank feels about that.

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by ensignavenger on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:29PM (#38372766)

Form an LLC, with you and 10 others as members. Open bank account for the LLC. Now you have your account. Maybe the LLC could be called "A1A Car Wash LLC".

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by VincentEvans on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:46PM (#38372957)

And when one of the other members of the said LLC happens to be facing felony charges - chances are you too will find yourself involved in an investigation.

… which is normal and expected, as we all have been taught by our parents not to be getting into cars and banking arrangements with strangers.

But I suspect that the interested parties here want to avoid the inconvenience of facing charges.

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by xyst on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:50PM (#38373021)

File Incorporation papers in Delaware. that’s about as anonymous as it gets.

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by RandomBK on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @08:21PM (#38373316)

Yea, that's not going to hold up to a federal investigation.

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by akerl_ on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:32PM (#38372803)

I mean, at this point you’re just reinventing normal, boring money laundering.

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by toomuchtodo on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:24PM (#38372728)

There was a fintech that just shutdown that was doing group bank accounts like this, but the name escapes me. Their postmortem was posted here (didn’t raise when raising was easy because they didn’t need the money, and then they lost their banking partner). Firefighters were one of their user stories.

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by neaden on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:32PM (#38372798)

What was the use case for fire fighters? DIY life insurance?

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by toomuchtodo on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:33PM (#38372807)

Shared grocery expenses because they live together.

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by ajross on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:51PM (#38373031)

FWIW: an mixed account for shared expenses is 100% legal and definitely not money laundering as long as you do the accounting and can show that it all paid for groceries. People get hung up on the specifics of AML/KYC regulations and tend to forget the context. That's sort of what the linked article is about.

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by toomuchtodo on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:52PM (#38373043)

Agreed, I provided more for context that it can be done, within the context you mentioned.

(i take annual mandatory AML/KYC training as part of my fintech dayjob compliance program)

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by xyst on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:49PM (#38373002)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_banking_models

Yea bank AML systems will definitely go off. Especially at big banks. I vaguely recall a comment here where the person(s) even spoke with the branch manager yet accounts were eventually flagged as part of AML. Funds frozen.

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by lxgr on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @08:04PM (#38373162)

You're probably referring to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38150606?

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by ric2b on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @07:50PM (#38373010)

Or just go to the casino and play some blackjack until you lose 1 to 3% and then leave with your mixed money.

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Re:Is it legal to mix cash in a jar? How is Bitcoin mixing a... by cwsx on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @09:00PM (#38373664)

Do this frequently enough and they'll start inviting you back with free travel + accommodation.

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