This is VERY important to debunk because FatManTerra has an entire echo chamber on Twitter and also because he's telling them that "centralized mixers are very illegal".
I'll throw in a counter argument: privacy is a human right.
I'm confused; how is that incompatible with what I said? Laws aren't always right. I was merely pointing out that you can go to jail for running a mixer. I am pro-privacy and I support the existence of mixers, especially zero knowledge mixers such as Tornado Cash. The service you tout as a human right actually doing exactly the opposite might be a bitter pill to swallow, which is why I understand your reluctance to fully appreciate my position.
Implying that a mixer is bad because it's used by high-profile criminals is counter-intuitive. If anything, you probably
want to use the best privacy tools, even though you have different goals, that also high-profile 'wanted' people, such as criminals or persecuted individuals use.
ChipMixer has been used by several high-profile criminals, such as the Ronin bridge hackers (from North Korea!) & the Binance hackers.
Sorry, I think you misunderstood this point. I wasn't stating that the mixer is bad because major criminals use it. I was drawing a comparison between Tornado Cash and ChipMixer, pointing out that the same echelon of major criminals use both, yet only one is being crucified.
Sure, he can have his own opinion, but it's not only his anymore when he shares that in public on twitter.
I'd much prefer if we looked at arguments atomically and on a meritocratic basis instead of relying on history or expertise. I've been around a while, but that doesn't matter. I was just sharing a theory that I personally found pretty compelling. It is also an opinion, not a fact. I'm not claiming to be an authority on the subject (I'm not one) nor am I asking anyone to believe me. Just wanted to open the matter up for discussion and hear others' thoughts on it. It looks like that goal has been achieved, as every major post I've seen about ChipMixer (like the FTX hacker-related one) has a bunch of comments either posting about the theory or linking to it.
(With all due respect, I was warned that by posting this thread I would be, and I quote, "mobbed by the DT circle jerk," so that combined with your obvious financial interest in defending ChipMixer leave me unsurprised by this collective response.)
ChipMixer's response has been weak as well, which further reinforces my belief in the theory, not that there was much doubt in my mind. (As a side note: while I think privacy is more important than mass surveillance, which prompted my post, I consider myself a friend of the US government, and I am happy to stop talking about ChipMixer if requested. I will not delete the original thread but I'll stop working on new ones related to mixers. You have my email.)