
Ask HN: What is driving cryptocurrency value? - tastyface
Maybe an unusual question for this community, but here goes. I&#x27;m interested in speculating a bit on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but my personal code of ethics would prevent me from profiting off of something primarily used for dark or illegal purposes. (Online drug markets, money laundering, etc.) I&#x27;m not sure how much of Bitcoin&#x27;s value is due to this stuff vs. legitimate uses or just excitement over a potentially revolutionary new technology. Any thoughts? Thanks!
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zzzzzzzza
A lot of people here saying crypto isn't used for anything illegal... erhm...
Remember silk road boys? sure, the feds shut it down (more popped and and got
shut down, I don't know personally but there's probably multiple variants on
the theme out there now), but nowadays one of the big drivers is getting your
wealth out of china (illegally), and are any of these guys reporting their
capital gains to the irs? Shit tons of illegal shit happens with cryptos
without even going into scams or hacks.

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BjoernKW
The “It’s used for illegal stuff.” argument by and large is just meant to
scare off ordinary people.

Crypto currencies actually make it easier to uncover dark or illegal
transactions because crypto currency transactions are inherently traceable.
After all, traceability is the key feature of any ledger, digital or not.

It’s precisely because paper money isn’t traceable that laws against money
laundering were created in the first place.

There’s a real ethical issue with speculating in crypto currencies though:
Just as with gold or fiat currencies these assets don’t create any value.

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kleer001
The only ostensible difference between crypto-currencies is in their code and
network strength (people and computing power).

By value cash, and namely US $100 bills, are used for more crimes than
anything else in the world, ever.

Don't do anything illegal with your bitcoin and you should be fine. Don't
worry about what other people do, that's an endless and naive vortex of
insanity. Basically mind your own business unless someone asks you a question.

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whb07
I hate being that guy, but if you use any reserve currency(USD,Euro) I'd argue
that its those currencies being used in active drug/illegal markets.

If I show up to a drug transaction anywhere with a hardware wallet, I think
I'd get laughed out. Yet that's not the same with USD. Or in the extreme case,
If I went to Libya to purchase a slave it is safe to say they take Euros.

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coryl
You don't use it in individual transactions.

It's for wholesale drug operations. Usually drugs go at one time, money comes
back another time. Only now instead of cash you could just use a crypto, but
figuring out how to liquidate enough of it would be difficult.

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quickthrower2
Watching the Neflix doco on Escobar - one problem he had is having to hide
large quantities of cash in holes around Columbia.

Not liquidating it all would be advantageous I'd think.

OTOH the DEA would love the traceability.

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muzani
The value is like gold. It is a limited resource. It can't be counterfeit.

The big difference is that gold is portable and much harder to destroy.

