12 Comments
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Rebecca's avatar

“Money laundering” has existed as long as trade, banking and ruler confiscation schemes have existed (thousands of years). Is laundering through crypto any harder to track than earlier methods? Might it even be easier because of the immutability of blockchains?

Bruce's avatar

Regarding the difference in legitimacy between fiat and crypto currencies, my understanding is as follows. Fiat currency, despite being created out of nothing nevertheless has value because the issuing government requires tax to be paid in that currency. Failure to pay tax eventually can result in a visit from men with guns and time in jail. That's ultimately what makes it undeniably real.

Crypto on the other hand does not have armed police enforcing the acceptance of its value. Its only clear use case is hiding criminally related transactions and as a vehicle for speculation. As such it seems like crypto is vulnerable to government regulation cracking down on its role in money laundering which could easily result in the speculative bubble bursting since there is nothing forcing its claim to possess value. All the gobbledygook about the wonders of blockchain is essentially irrelevant bullshit.

Have I missed anything important?

Geary Johansen's avatar

As well as oligarchs and rogue regimes, is crypto becoming more established for multinational corporations? If so, what does this tell us and how should potential investors react to the development?

Jack Sands's avatar

Is crypto actually that safe as a currency? My understanding is that it’s supposed to work out long term because it has a decentralised network where every single computer or device that uses bitcoin stores literally every transaction that has ever taken place via bitcoin. Firstly, surely that’s going to lead to storage problems if 8 billion devices have to store that. And secondly, I don’t see why a super intelligence, or a sufficiently motivated rogue state, or an AI enhanced terrorist group etc. couldn’t hack a sufficient number of those devices to undermine BTC as a system if it did overtake the dollar. Is this just my lack of understanding?

Stevan Popovic's avatar

Is he going to get an easy ride like daddy did for his interview? All criminals like Crypto. What about the ones closer to home. FTX was used to fund the Ukrainian oligarchy.

EpictitusIsEpic's avatar

How close is the United States coming to replacing the dollar with a centralized digital currency?

LiberalTiger's avatar

Is crypto a net good or a net bad, both now and in the future, in your opinion?

TheBlues's avatar

During Donald Trump's first term, he had opposed cryptocurrency, calling it "not money" and "based on thin air". He had told Fox Business in 2021 that Bitcoin "seems like a scam" to compete with the U.S. dollar.

When and what caused his Damascene conversion?

Bruce's avatar

"He had told Fox Business in 2021 that Bitcoin "seems like a scam" to compete with the U.S. dollar".

Two minutes later he was thinking this is my kind of business.

PAUL MARSHALL's avatar

Can you give us your estimate of the strength of relationship between Putin and Iran and Putin and China ie compare to say UK/USA or say USA/Brazil? and what will thing be like after Putins death?

Tired Moderate's avatar

I see occasional articles about Trump selling influence via crypto currency schemes, but I'm not sure who to trust. Exactly what is the Trump family doing, and if it's unethical how can we stop it?