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Bitcoin => Press => Topic started by: Donationcoin on March 24, 2018, 01:02:32 PM



Title: [2018-03-24] Goodbye Fungibility: OFAC's Bitcoin Blacklist Could Remake Crypto
Post by: Donationcoin on March 24, 2018, 01:02:32 PM
With just one paragraph, an agency of the U.S. government may have just radically altered the dynamics of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) announced on March 19 that it was considering including digital currency addresses associated with its list of persons and entities with whom U.S. persons and businesses are forbidden to transact business.

In a new section of its website, labeled "Questions about Virtual Currency," OFAC noted that it "may add digital currency addresses to the SDN List to alert the public of specific digital currency identifiers associated with a blocked person."

The list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) includes individuals and entities associated with sanctioned governments, terrorism, trafficking in weapons of mass destruction, and illegal drug trafficking. This list includes varying types of records, including in some cases only names, but in other cases names, addresses, aliases, etc.

https://www.coindesk.com/goodbye-fungibility-ofacs-bitcoin-blacklist-remake-crypto/


Title: Re: [2018-03-24] Goodbye Fungibility: OFAC's Bitcoin Blacklist Could Remake Crypto
Post by: buwaytress on March 24, 2018, 01:40:49 PM
As exchanges would see, the early successes of blacklisting Bitcoin addresses may also lose their effectiveness soon once we have, for example, cross-platform atomic swaps. Throw in a whole slew of mixers, cross-blockchain swaps, and say, even simple OTC exchanges with unsuspecting new buyers of crypto to privacy coins, and it might become less difficult for hackers and blacklisted address owners to clean their ill-gotten gains.

Goodluck to OFAC keeping up with the dark Joneses.


Title: Re: [2018-03-24] Goodbye Fungibility: OFAC's Bitcoin Blacklist Could Remake Crypto
Post by: squatter on March 25, 2018, 11:41:28 AM
The list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) includes individuals and entities associated with sanctioned governments, terrorism, trafficking in weapons of mass destruction, and illegal drug trafficking. This list includes varying types of records, including in some cases only names, but in other cases names, addresses, aliases, etc.

This was obviously triggered by Venezuela's Petro offering. Ostensibly, they're only interested in very serious things -- sanctioned governments, terrorism and drug trafficking. I wouldn't think too much of it.

As exchanges would see, the early successes of blacklisting Bitcoin addresses may also lose their effectiveness soon once we have, for example, cross-platform atomic swaps. Throw in a whole slew of mixers, cross-blockchain swaps, and say, even simple OTC exchanges with unsuspecting new buyers of crypto to privacy coins, and it might become less difficult for hackers and blacklisted address owners to clean their ill-gotten gains.

Goodluck to OFAC keeping up with the dark Joneses.

It reeks of an agency that wants to looks like it's doing something. That's what government agencies do -- they need to justify their existence, after all. Obviously with simple address blacklisting, they can't possibly keep tabs on all fund transmission (especially across multiple networks).