https://time.com/6205143/tornado-cash-us-crypto-ban/ The battle between the crypto community and the U.S. government over financial privacy just escalated dramatically, amid government efforts to crack down on criminals. Tornado Cash is a service that helps some cryptocurrency owners protect their anonymity by scrambling information trails on the blockchain. On Monday, the Treasury Department prohibited Americans from using the service, arguing that it has played a central role in the laundering of more than $7 billion.
Is it ? All of the I-95s are being used for illegal goods, DOI, criminal activities & etc, but, how many of people crossing a specific I-95, %-age wise, use it for illegal purposes ? All of the payment platforms, are being used for criminal activities, but, how many users of Tornado, %-age wise, use it for illegal purposes ?
Lynn Alden made an excellent post about how much opposition there was initially to peer to peer encryption protocols over the Internet. Some argued how horrible it would be if only the sender and receiver could see the content. Of course if authorities were able to ban encryption, there could be no such thing like online banking. Even if criminals use privacy protocols to launder money, it's a negative I'm willing to accept in order to ensure privacy for citizens. The government rarely does anything about money laundering anyway even with all the tools they currently have. And now all of a sudden they cry about this as if they were just about to get around to cracking down.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but most people who dick around in the crypto space are there to make a quick buck, and not merely send and receive (let alone launder) cryptos among themselves. So this whole thing about needing privacy and anonymity sounds pretty hollow to me.
Some yes, but many are there for the transformative power that it will have on the entire world population. If we don't build it properly with privacy in mind, we will create a system that is worse than what we have now. Lots of people take on problem in the world and work on that smart subsector. I am of the belief that so many problems in the world can be fixed just by fixing the monetary system. Corruption, poverty, hunger, war, all of these things literally go away when you fix the money.
I've mentioned months ago that this would eventually come to an end and be shut down. Kinda common sense when you think of it. But.... there are a few certain BTC and contract maxis who still think that everything crypto can't be controlled by any government. I have to hand it to the FBI though, they have been able to re-piece data back together that's been used through tumblers, at least in the case of Bitfinex's huge hack from years ago. Maybe not all of them, but it is interesting to note. BTW, very strange that the 'Crocodile of Wallstreet' case is so hushed under covers. I can only assume she's made some big deal with prosecutors to OUST some bigger fish in her case. Get ready for some upcoming drama.
I applaud your utopian enthusiasm but human nature, driven by fear and greed, does not change that easily.