Re: The anonymous structure of the blockchain technology encourages crime?
I don't get why people are so defensive on BTC that they sometimes deny things that are obvious.
Yeah, BTC can be used for illegal activities, yeah BTC has been used for buying all kinds of stuff on dark markets and dark markets have boomed with the adoption of cryptos for payments.
BTC has attracted a lot of fishy activity, there is nothing to hide here.
It's not about being defensive, Blockchain is not as anonymous as the OP puts it and it definitely doesn't encourage criminal activities. Yeah, BTC can be used for illegal activities, yeah BTC has been used for buying all kinds of stuff on dark markets and dark markets have boomed with the adoption of cryptos for payments.
BTC has attracted a lot of fishy activity, there is nothing to hide here.
Criminals have made use of blockchain based currency and they'll continue to do so because it is valuable same way they make use of Dollars, Pounds and other Fiats; Elephant tusks and valuable mineral resources are not spared so I don't agree with the OP on this.
Criminals don't need encouragement, they make use of what is available.
Let's take the latest scam :
Dwarf FPGA the anti-ASIC
They've only accepted crypto, of course, no PayPal, no nothing.
Would the scam have worked with a payment that had some kind of buyer protection? No! A payment option that would have helped the users tracing him? No!
And about the BTC being so non-anonymous...
Just how many of the scammers here on the forum have been traced out of 8200 scam accusations topics? 0.1% ? 0.2%?
Sounds pretty anonymous to me.
Yeah, BTC has attracted a lot of shady individuals just like churches have attracted fanatics that have nothing in common with Christianity, just like the internet has allowed me to become a Nigerian King. (although I'm still waiting to inherit that wealth and my throne)
So? Big deal! I don't give a damn! Everyone is free to use it as it wants as long he will face the consequences of his actions.
But turning into a cult that worships the blockchain and burns any infidel that dares to criticize it is not the solution.