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Comment by selicos | Hacker News Reader

If ensuring digital devices can be accessed by law enforcement (are not "beyond the law") is so important where are the task forces shutting down crypto and networks using unregulated and anonymous currency? Literally follow the money, as they say. The current admin has 'made' millions if not more off his own fraudulent coin. Take down crypto and you stop crime instead of destroying privacy.

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This news is about the UK. Across the channel, the EU has effectively outlawed anonymous currency. I believe the UK FCA also has such rules in force. So your post is rather moot.

this.

crypto has a lot of theoretical value, but in practice people only really think of crypto when they want to tap into shadow economy.

I do not deny that this technology will be instrumental to network communities, provided we are ever allowed to form such. I do not deny that offline POSes and fully offline tap-to-pay may become a possibility if an existing fiat currency adopts crypto as one "interface" among traditional banking, Apple/Google Pay, and cash. (this, by the way, would be incredible in Ukraine - right now it's power off, and you can't use your bank for offline purchases.)

in practice it's only really shadow economy. at this point it's not even a speculative asset of some notable value

yeah but the shadow economy is important. even if you dont support drug legalization, its good to have a backup path in case the government decides to do something like close the bank accounts of Palestine protesters or ban tools that let you flash your cars firmware. always remember one mans terrorist is another mans rebel.

western governments are moving into more mass surveillance, more copyright (except for AI companies) and closed off platforms, more attempts to control what we do online but also in the outside world. all in the name of safety and security but for some reason all of it benefits corrupt billionaires and power mad cops. anonymous payments are one thing that can help us fight back.

> where are the task forces shutting down crypto and networks using unregulated and anonymous currency?

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-thre... for plebs, FCA for banks.

but bitcoin isn't anonymous, each coin and transaction is traceable, so its a terrible tool for money laundering.

where did they mention Bitcoin? much like everything "first generation", Bitcoin is objectively garbage nowadays, when we have continuously evolving Ethereum for modern all-around-good experience and Monero for actually private payments. oh by the way, cryptographically significant quantum processors are eventually coming, and Bitcoin still didn't make up its mind on PQC, to my knowledge, whereas Ethereum did.

no one writes a fresh C99 project in a 2000s Visual Studio with whatever formatting was the most trendy back then anymore.

Did your bot malfunction and post in the wrong thread? "The current admin", this is a thread about the UK lmao.

This has happened to me several times recently, a reply with a partisan slant that would be normal IF it made any sense at all within the current thread. Either some “influencers” are cutting back on their token budget, or we’re collectively losing our semantic comprehension.

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