For the money laundering and human trafficking that he specifically was not accused of?
Cryptocurrency is the enemy of privacy, and its use in this situation would increase the appearance of illegality, possibly opening up the accused to tax fraud allegations. Advocating for its use by people who can’t afford to lose thousands of dollars in a pyramid scheme is absurd.
Monero is the best friend to privacy. Although I would agree that most crypto is definitely the enemy of privacy, Monero is specifically built to be the friend of privacy.
Monero is still built on the blockchain. Using Monero for privacy is like playing casino blackjack as a monetary investment because the odds are better than the lottery.
Yes, it is built on a blockchain. It’s a blockchain specifically designed to completely hide the sender of a transaction, the recipient of said transaction, and the amount of that transaction. And cannot be even broken with quantum computing.
Edit: I should stand corrected. Parts of it are already quantum proof. Other parts can still be unraveled with a quantum computer, but there is work already in progress to fix that for future transactions.
The word is crypto"currency". The goal would be to completely replace traditional currency.
Your job pays you in crypto, you pay your electric bill in crypto, you pay your mortgage in crypto, you pay your car payment in crypto, you save in crypto, you buy your Starbucks in crypto. You sell your old game system for crypto, etc.
When you completely give up on the traditional system and value your life in crypto, your life gets better.
Brazilian computer scientist Jorge Stolfi is one voice who has contended this. His view is based on the following observations:
Investors buy in the expectation of profits.
That expectation is sustained by the profits of those that cash out.
But there is no external source for those profits; they come entirely from new investments.
And the operators take away a large portion of the money.
All of this rings true true. But in calling bitcoin a Ponzi scheme, critics are arguably being too kind on two counts. First, bitcoin doesn’t have the same endgame as a Ponzi scheme. Second, it constitutes a deeply negative sum game from a broad social perspective.
Bitcoin = Monero in your mind. They aren’t the same, not even close.
LOL. I understand they are very different entities.
Bitcoin
Monero
Proof of work
Proof of work
Uses a blockchain ledger
Uses a blockchain ledger
Extremely volatile exchange rate
Extremely volatile exchange rate
Unregulated
Unregulated
Price easily manipulated by wealthy investors
Price easily manipulated by wealthy investors
“HODL” - unrealistic expectation that the endgame is general use as currency
“HODL” - unrealistic expectation that the endgame is general use as currency
Heavily driven by FOMO
Heavily driven by FOMO
Uses obscene amount of energy per coin
Aspires to use an obscene amount of energy per coin to prevent another 51% attack
Ledger has become so large it is unwieldy to store and transfer
Ledger 200+ GiB, constantly expanding
Represents an ecological catastrope
A currently smaller part of the ecological catastrope
Most popular currency used to facilitate human trafficking
Has features that should make it more attractive for use in human trafficking
Difficult and annoying to use
Even more difficult and annoying to use
Available on most cryptocurrency exchanges
Available on fewer exchanges
Claimed by early proponents that transactions were ‘anonymous’ but now frequently the subject of blockchain analysis
Proponents claim transactions to be anonymous
Pre-mining began January 2009
Pre-mining began April 2014
Advocates behave like people in an MLM cult
Advocates behave like people in an MLM cult
Represents the vain hope to individually escape catastrophe while the world burns by using theoretically clever but practically unworkable technological solutions that create further social problems, while the real, difficult though not intractable social problems of government abuse, economic instability, and authoritarianism continue to increase because resources for real social solutions are starved of resources
Represents the vain hope to individually escape catastrophe while the world burns by using theoretically clever but practically unworkable technological solutions that create further social problems, while the real, difficult though not intractable social problems of government abuse, economic instability, and authoritarianism continue to increase because resources for real social solutions are starved of resources
Representatives of two analytics firms and one exchange also noted that illicit actors use privacy coins less frequently, as they are more difficult to obtain and are supported by fewer exchanges compared to Bitcoin, making it difficult to convert funds to government-issued currency.
So whatever benefits Monero claims to have in protecting the privacy of illicit activities, the people who could face real time in jail don’t consider the benefits worth how extremely annoying it is to use.
Well, if Lord Robert McCauley says it, it must be true. I am truly humbled by your superior intellect and ability to determine a currency from a Ponzi scheme by citing essays that have nothing to do with Monero. Goodbye.
I think what you, and the people you believed, are making one wrong fundamental assumption (and I read it as your main point), which is “to evalute crypto currency one must compare it against fiat money”.
For the money laundering and human trafficking that he specifically was not accused of?
Cryptocurrency is the enemy of privacy, and its use in this situation would increase the appearance of illegality, possibly opening up the accused to tax fraud allegations. Advocating for its use by people who can’t afford to lose thousands of dollars in a pyramid scheme is absurd.
Monero is the best friend to privacy. Although I would agree that most crypto is definitely the enemy of privacy, Monero is specifically built to be the friend of privacy.
Monero is still built on the blockchain. Using Monero for privacy is like playing casino blackjack as a monetary investment because the odds are better than the lottery.
Yes, it is built on a blockchain. It’s a blockchain specifically designed to completely hide the sender of a transaction, the recipient of said transaction, and the amount of that transaction. And cannot be even broken with quantum computing.
Edit: I should stand corrected. Parts of it are already quantum proof. Other parts can still be unraveled with a quantum computer, but there is work already in progress to fix that for future transactions.
Cryptocurrency whitepapers are the source of all truth.
Cryptography (math) papers, are, in fact, the source of all truth.
If you don’t like crypto it’s okay, but don’t spread undocumented fear.
Maybe that’s why there so little overlap between respected cryptography researchers and crypto developers?
If you like tipping sex workers online it’s okay, but don’t spread a documented scam.
Sources please showing monero is traceable
The important thing about any cryptocurrency scam is that it can’t effectively be traced by the victims.
Meanwhile, you have only whitepapers on your side. No peer-reviewed journal has ever asserted Monero is untraceable. Meanwhile, there are some very smart people with a strong incentive to both test the ad-copy and while not breaking the illusion. Why are you so confident?
Calling Monero a pyramid scheme is absurd.
Really? Bitcoin: Worse Than a Ponzi
That isn’t monero
The word “investors” is the problem here.
The word is crypto"currency". The goal would be to completely replace traditional currency.
Your job pays you in crypto, you pay your electric bill in crypto, you pay your mortgage in crypto, you pay your car payment in crypto, you save in crypto, you buy your Starbucks in crypto. You sell your old game system for crypto, etc.
When you completely give up on the traditional system and value your life in crypto, your life gets better.
Cringe AF. Please stop abusing the anarchist symbol.
No, I don’t think I will, because I’m not abusing it. I am a crypto anarchist.
I believe in rules without rulers and voluntary human association. Governments are illegitimate due to the use of force.
Anarchism and capitalism are mutually exclusive.
However you feel about crypto, its decentralized nature is counter to capitalism.
So decentralized! Capitalism is over!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism_and_capitalism
Okay buddy. Whatever you say.
Why bitcoin is worse than a Madoff-style Ponzi scheme by Robert McCauley
Bitcoin = Monero in your mind. They aren’t the same, not even close.
LOL. I understand they are very different entities.
One of the hilarious details I discovered while researching this is that according to the US Government Accountability Office report “Use of Online Marketplaces and Virtual Currencies in Drug and Human Trafficking” in 2022,
So whatever benefits Monero claims to have in protecting the privacy of illicit activities, the people who could face real time in jail don’t consider the benefits worth how extremely annoying it is to use.
Well, if Lord Robert McCauley says it, it must be true. I am truly humbled by your superior intellect and ability to determine a currency from a Ponzi scheme by citing essays that have nothing to do with Monero. Goodbye.
I think what you, and the people you believed, are making one wrong fundamental assumption (and I read it as your main point), which is “to evalute crypto currency one must compare it against fiat money”.
Are you actually this stupid or are you high.