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What Makes Bitcoin Special? An Economist Explains
The Daily Fodder ^ | 27 February 2021

Posted on 02/27/2021 8:21:34 AM PST by amorphous

click here to read article


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To: amorphous

“Privacy is one area which isn’t that great [with cryptocurrencies]”

Interesting. Fortunately I have no reason to do secret transactions.


41 posted on 02/27/2021 10:29:20 AM PST by cymbeline
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To: Brian Griffin
Okay

And your point is?

42 posted on 02/27/2021 10:29:33 AM PST by amorphous
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To: Brian Griffin
Mt Gox.

https://www.coindesk.com/company/mt-gox

"By 2013, the Japan-based exchange was handling 70 percent of all bitcoin trades worldwide, but collapsed in 2014 after it was revealed that it had lost 744,408 of its customers’ bitcoins and 100,000 of its own bitcoins, amounting to the loss of approximately 7% of all bitcoins at the time."

"In June 2011, a hacker initiated a massive sell-off of bitcoin from a compromised user account, leading the price of bitcoin to plummet on the exchange. The hacker also stole details from 60,000 mt.gox users."

43 posted on 02/27/2021 10:30:15 AM PST by BiglyCommentary
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To: BiglyCommentary

Isn’t this exciting, the security offered by unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges.

Bithumb: $30 Million
Bithumb’s hack took place on June 19, with about $30 million in tokens stolen, according to Coin Telegraph

Coinrail: $37.2 Million
Before Bithumb, there was Coinrail. The rival South Korean exchange was hacked just over a week before Bithumb.

BitGrail: $195 Million
Italian exchange BitGrail was hacked in early February, with team members suggesting that $195 million in the token nano was stolen.

Coincheck: $534 Million
In January, the Japanese exchange Coincheck suffered an attack in 2018 which cost it 523 million NEM coins valued at about $534 million.


44 posted on 02/27/2021 10:34:24 AM PST by BiglyCommentary
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To: gitmo

The ChiComs are going to dominate it because they have the cheapest electricity to run the computers.

Nothing like hundreds of new coal fired power plants for cheap juice!


45 posted on 02/27/2021 10:34:47 AM PST by nascarnation
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To: cymbeline

Nor do most honest people. It’s usually something which concerns criminals, or those who don’t want others to know what they’re spending their money on. For the latter purpose, cryptocurrency does offer a degree of privacy. But once the level rises to the criminal level which attracts the attention of government enforcement, they have the tools and means to track down the transactions to those involved, to a large degree.


46 posted on 02/27/2021 10:35:21 AM PST by amorphous
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To: BiglyCommentary
Here is a link to a fairly complete list of many of the crypto currency hacks. And don't forget boy and girls, if you lose your secret key, that is it. There is no going to you local banker and saying "I forgot my password or pin" and in minutes all is well again. Nope, your money is forever off to money heaven.

"As of today, there are a total of 49 hacking events, with lost funds amounting to a total of approximately $2.1 billion at the times of these hacks, with the Mt.Gox hack of 2014 being the biggest casualty yet with $661,348,000 of stolen funds. The total amount does not include stolen user data and undisclosed amounts of stolen funds."

https://cryptosec.info/exchange-hacks/

47 posted on 02/27/2021 10:41:27 AM PST by BiglyCommentary
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To: George from New England

“fees for btc are 10 times lower than that of credit cards”

In Europe, I believe bank-related debit card fees are much less than for the US, but I can’t find a link.

This is for Canada:

“Fees for accepting a debit card are substantially lower. In order to accept debit cards, a merchant must be a member of the Interac Association, currently a not-for-profit organization. It manages the network that links members together in order to deliver direct payment services across the country. Merchants pay an annual membership fee based on the number of transactions they process. The current fee per transaction is $0.008253 — or $82.53 for 10,000 transactions.”

“There’s also a fee that goes to the acquirer. You can tell which company that is by checking the top of the pad the cashier hands you when you make a debit card purchase — the pad you use to enter your PIN. The merchant normally pays a flat fee, negotiated with the acquirer.”

“It’s the interchange fee involved in credit card transactions that’s making retailers angry.”

https://www.cbc.ca/news/card-costs-who-pays-what-to-whom-1.807339


48 posted on 02/27/2021 10:46:00 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: Brian Griffin

And then the US put pressure on Swiss banks and all those secret accounts were worthless. You could have some bank account in the Cayman Islands but if you do not disclose it and get caught, its off to Club Fed for a long stint.


49 posted on 02/27/2021 10:47:37 AM PST by BiglyCommentary
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To: amorphous

“And your point is?”

You can be betrayed to the tax authorities by a cryptocurrency company insider if you try to use a cryptocurrency to dodge taxes.


50 posted on 02/27/2021 10:48:28 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: BiglyCommentary
Nope, your money is forever off to money heaven.

Obama administration acknowledges $1.7B transfer to Iran was all cash

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-administration-acknowledges-1-7-billion-transfer-to-iran-was-all-cash/

Where's your 72 virgins, Newbly?

51 posted on 02/27/2021 10:49:40 AM PST by amorphous
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To: Brian Griffin

Comparing credit card fees and cryto fees is a red herring. The proper comparison is comparing the fees for ACH transfers and debit card use. Crypto fees are much, much higher. Why would someone be an idiot and pay higher fees, especially for the “privilege” of having your “money” on some unregulated exchange, uninsured exchange?

Someone uses my debit card and I call the bank and those fraudulent charges are backed out. Try that with some cryto exchange.


52 posted on 02/27/2021 10:52:29 AM PST by BiglyCommentary
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To: amorphous

That’s real intelligent, comparing money the US government spends to crypto exchange losses.


53 posted on 02/27/2021 10:53:58 AM PST by BiglyCommentary
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To: Dilbert San Diego
But I don’t understand how bitcoin can become an alternative currency. Bitcoin values fluctuate in relation to the dollar and other national currencies.

All currencies fluctuate against each other. Bitcoin would just become a rather unstable currency.

54 posted on 02/27/2021 10:56:20 AM PST by BfloGuy ( Even the opponents of Socialism are dominated by socialist ideas.)
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To: Brian Griffin
First, you shouldn't be trying to dodge taxes.

Second, why is it a bad thing to be able to catch those who do?

Cryptocurrency exchanges follow the law concerning tax reporting and know your customer regulations.

If you only wanted to store value, you can do so yourself through what are called "wallets":

https://coindiligent.com/best-cryptocurrency-wallets

55 posted on 02/27/2021 10:56:37 AM PST by amorphous
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To: BiglyCommentary
That’s real intelligent, comparing money the US government spends to crypto exchange losses.

No comparison, is there? The Fed printed $100 Billion just a few weeks ago.

How much gold, silver, rare paintings, precious gems, and cash has been lost or stolen through history?

56 posted on 02/27/2021 11:01:42 AM PST by amorphous
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To: amorphous

Mass transit fare payment cards could be useful for small digital technology-based purchases.

Metro NYC’s MTA could assure that potential customers have the ability to pay MTA fares as well as getting debit card fee revenue from metro NYC merchants and small Internet payments such as a monthly NY Times subscription.

My VISA debit card is linked to my checking account. I don’t like to use it online when my checking account balance exceeds $300.


57 posted on 02/27/2021 11:01:50 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: Brian Griffin
Mass transit fare payment cards could be useful for small digital technology-based purchases.

Sounds like a niche that needs filling.

58 posted on 02/27/2021 11:03:12 AM PST by amorphous
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To: amorphous

“First, you shouldn’t be trying to dodge taxes.”

“Second, why is it a bad thing to be able to catch those who do?”

I was merely trying to educate those would rely on a cryptocurrency to try to shortchange the IRS.


59 posted on 02/27/2021 11:06:36 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: amorphous
The Fed printed $100 Billion just a few weeks ago.

And how many Federal Reserve dollars got destroyed during the past year of economic shutdowns? Some estimate several trillion. Typical toy coin hobbyist thinking, not understanding there are two sides of a financial ledger.

60 posted on 02/27/2021 11:08:13 AM PST by BiglyCommentary
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