Re:Mt. Gox Finds 200,000 Missing Bitcoins
by CaptainZapp on Friday March 21, 2014 @03:56AM
(#7441160)
HSBC was money laundering which is basically the entire purpose of a bank.
This is a very strong statement.
Do you mind backing it up, or is this just meant as a glib throwaway quip?
Re:Mt. Gox Finds 200,000 Missing Bitcoins
by andrewaylett on Friday March 21, 2014 @06:35AM
(#7441493)
I'm not the OP, but I think I can see what he means, and I think he means it in a non-pejorative way too.
One of the functions of banks is indeed to hide the source and destination of your money. My grocer doesn't get to know who employs me; my employer doesn't see where I spend my money.
Yes, you can achieve that with cash, without directly involving a bank. But the money is still issued by a bank.
I'm not saying that it's impossible to achieve this level of information hiding without banks, but I can see where the GP is coming from in his argument.
Knight capital was a cock up in a high risk trading env. They paid for that.
HSBC was money laundering which is basically the entire purpose of a bank.
NatWest was a process cock up.
However no money went "oops we lost it" and was never seen again. At most, even with HSBC consumer withdrawal limits it's a minor inconvenience for a couple of days.
Much like mobile phone networks, people expect 100% uptime but that's unrealistic in practice. Always keep £200 rolled up in your mattress.