Cryptocurrency - fiat currency

[XenoFever]

As we all know cryptocurrencies are basically a digital form of currency which can also be referred to as alternate currency. These digital currencies employ strong cryptographic encryption that can ensure a secure module of transactions. There are many investors that put money into cryptocurrencies with the intention of reeling in profit. Investors buy these cryptocurrencies through exchange platforms for normal or FIAT currencies. Many investors claim that cryptocurrencies are much more beneficial than FIAT currencies. These claims can be true since the cryptocurrencies provide more perks where FIAT currencies are just beneficial when you own it.

Here are the reason why we can consider cryptocurrency as more intersting compared to fiat currency:
1. Decentralization - Cryptocurrencies are decentralized which means there are no government authorities that decide the rules. Apart from that, any fluctuations in the government policies don’t affect the cryptocurrencies and their market.
2. Secured transaction - The transactions of major cryptocurrencies are secured by blockchain technology which is a digital ledger or records, virtually impregnable by attackers. The system is so complex that the attacker has to perform multiple attacks on multiple devices at once.
3. Lower transaction fees - most of the transactions including cryptocurrency has its transaction fees but it's still okay because it is not that high, the transaction fees of many cryptocurrencies are low considering you may be transferring millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies.
4. True currencies – Cryptocurrencies employ security measures to protect their integrity and the security of the users. Unlike FIAT currencies cryptocurrencies cannot be corrupted because of the decentralization and security of the crypto coin. And as these cryptocurrencies are in digital form, it is next to impossible to duplicate them, unlike FIAT currencies.
5. Cryptocurrencies can be used everywhere - Nowadays cryptocurrencies have been adopted by many stores and businesses and are accepted in major places. Some businesses have strictly made their fund transactions via cryptocurrencies to ensure security and complete outcome.

Source: https://gem.co/crypto-101/what-is-fiat-money/

[cryptoaddictchie]

5. Cryptocurrencies can be used everywhere - Nowadays cryptocurrencies have been adopted by many stores and businesses and are accepted in major places. Some businesses have strictly made their fund transactions via cryptocurrencies to ensure security and complete outcome.

I observed since then the adoption of BTC and even cryptocurrencies to various industry and I can say that this is a major leap in terms of development and innovation. However, cryptocurrencies have also side a negative downside. As you mentioned it can be use everywhere, this include illegal activity and money laundering. Yes the accesibility and no hassle service of cryptocurrency is good, but this is also why its so vulnerable and easily can be used to such mentioned wrong doings.

Check this how crypto been used to such crime.

[1]https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/01/16/130843/cryptocurrency-money-laundering-exchanges
[2]https://cointelegraph.com/news/dutch-authorities-arrest-two-men-for-alleged-crypto-money-laundering

^{So even cryptocurrency have downside, thats why authority are so strict about this speculative commodities.}

[mk4]

1. Cryptocurrencies are decentralized. Bitcoin is decentralized. Not because something is a cryptocurrency it doesn't automatically mean it's decentralized.

3. Cryptocurrencies can be corrupted. Name another cryptocurrency besides Bitcoin that's actually decentralized.

However, cryptocurrencies have also side a negative downside. As you mentioned it can be use everywhere, this include illegal activity and money laundering. Yes the accesibility and no hassle service of cryptocurrency is good, but this is also why its so vulnerable and easily can be used to such mentioned wrong doings.

A downside, but it doesn't really matter. People have been doing money laundering using the US Dollar since who the heck knows when.

[Yogee]

1. Decentralization - Cryptocurrencies are decentralized which means there are no government authorities that decide the rules. Apart from that, any fluctuations in the government policies don’t affect the cryptocurrencies and their market.

Decentralization is not just about "no government authorities". Have you heard of locked tokens or the entire network stopped by the developers?

It's also not true that government policies do not affect the cryptocurrency market. The market almost always reacts when there are news about government legalization, bans or other form of restrictions.

2. Secured transaction - The transactions of major cryptocurrencies are secured by blockchain technology which is a digital ledger or records, virtually impregnable by attackers. The system is so complex that the attacker has to perform multiple attacks on multiple devices at once.

The system may be complex but that's not enough basis that it is safe from attacks.
- https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-classic-51-attack-the-reality-of-proof-of-work
- https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-gold-blockchain-hit-by-51-attack-leading-to-70k-double-spend
- https://www.coindesk.com/the-vertcoin-cryptocurrency-just-got-51-attacked-again

4. True currencies – Cryptocurrencies employ security measures to protect their integrity and the security of the users. Unlike FIAT currencies cryptocurrencies cannot be corrupted because of the decentralization and security of the crypto coin. And as these cryptocurrencies are in digital form, it is next to impossible to duplicate them, unlike FIAT currencies.

How about duplicating through forking?

5. Cryptocurrencies can be used everywhere - Nowadays cryptocurrencies have been adopted by many stores and businesses and are accepted in major places. Some businesses have strictly made their fund transactions via cryptocurrencies to ensure security and complete outcome.

Not yet.

Countries where Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are legal and illegal as a payment method
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/041515/countries-where-bitcoin-legal-illegal.asp
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory

[The Cryptovator]

As we know every action have a reaction. Crypto currencies is a wider revolution for world economy. On the other hand we can't imagine world now without fiat currency. We don't know in future if all the countries crate their own native digital cryptocurrency. There is some advantage and disadvantages on both currencies fiat and crypto. Cryptocurrency doesn't mean they are decentralized by default. But for bitcoin is different from others since still it isn't controlled by any organization and we don't know who is the creator except imagination. But other currency have team and organization so they are semi decentralized in my opinion. Most advantage for cryptocurrency is we are our own bank. We do not need to keep our money to third party where fiat money is fully centralized and have to use bank to keep money. We can't ignore corruption on both currency, still there is happening.

[Wenbing]

As we all know cryptocurrencies are basically a digital form of currency which can also be referred to as alternate currency.

1.Cryptocurrencies are simply digital currencies and they are not alternate currency. We have altcoin which are digital currencies other than bitcoin.

2. One of the downsides of crypto is that a corrupt politician can loot money and transfer the money to his bitcoin wallet and it'll become anonymous. So, it can be employed for money laundering without trace.

[o_e_l_e_o]

As you mentioned it can be use everywhere, this include illegal activity and money laundering.

Illegal trading, goods, and services, account for several of the largest markets in the world. The illegal drug trade is the second largest market in the world, only behind the food and drink industry, at a value of $400-500 billion annually. If your money can't be spent on some of the most widely traded goods in the world, then its not really money.

The question isn't "Can bitcoin can be used for illegal activities?" Not only is the answer yes, but the answer should be yes, because if it was no, that would mean that either bitcoin is censorable and controllable by a third party, such as a government or law enforcement agency, or it isn't really money at all. The question is "Does bitcoin encourage illegal activities?". I suspect you are going to struggle to find examples of drug dealers or criminals who would immediately stop their life of crime and become honest citizens if they could no longer user bitcoin and had to use cash instead.

[DdmrDdmr]

<…> 2. One of the downsides of crypto is that a corrupt politician can loot money and transfer the money to his bitcoin wallet and it'll become anonymous. So, it can be employed for money laundering without trace.

It’s not that simple, and he’d still need to know pretty well the ropes to be sure that it could not, at any point, be linked back to it. Even so, millions and millions worth have been stolen and moved around by corrupt governors so far, without leaving a trace, through fiat and gold, using diplotatic bags or whatnot, so it’s not like a (traceable and semi-anonymous) blockchain based solution would necessarily deem a better solution for them.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Even so, millions and millions worth have been stolen and moved around by corrupt governors so far, without leaving a trace, through fiat and gold, using diplotatic bags or whatnot, so it’s not like a (traceable and semi-anonymous) blockchain based solution would necessarily deem a better solution for them.

Exactly. And see my point in the post above.

"Does bitcoin encourage illegal activities?" Did these corrupt politicians not launder/steal/move/take bribes/etc. before bitcoin? Was every politician completely honest until bitcoin came along? If bitcoin were to disappear tomorrow, would all these politicians suddenly become completely honest again? Of course not. A tiny proportion of illegal activities take place using bitcoin, and none of them solely take place because of bitcoin.

Saying that one of the downsides of bitcoin is that criminals can use it is the same as saying that one of the downsides of the internet is that terrorists can use it.

[XenoFever]

5. Cryptocurrencies can be used everywhere - Nowadays cryptocurrencies have been adopted by many stores and businesses and are accepted in major places. Some businesses have strictly made their fund transactions via cryptocurrencies to ensure security and complete outcome.

I observed since then the adoption of BTC and even cryptocurrencies to various industry and I can say that this is a major leap in terms of development and innovation. However, cryptocurrencies have also side a negative downside. As you mentioned it can be use everywhere, this include illegal activity and money laundering. Yes the accesibility and no hassle service of cryptocurrency is good, but this is also why its so vulnerable and easily can be used to such mentioned wrong doings.

Check this how crypto been used to such crime.

[1]https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/01/16/130843/cryptocurrency-money-laundering-exchanges
[2]https://cointelegraph.com/news/dutch-authorities-arrest-two-men-for-alleged-crypto-money-laundering

^{So even cryptocurrency have downside, thats why authority are so strict about this speculative commodities.}

Yes its true, because of being decentralized of the bitcoin, many thinga can do it, many people are using it anywhere and anytime, so some people use it in some bad things like illegal, it is mostly happen in black market where the transactions about drug can be done using the payment of bitcoin.

[thebutton]

Even so, millions and millions worth have been stolen and moved around by corrupt governors so far, without leaving a trace, through fiat and gold, using diplotatic bags or whatnot, so it’s not like a (traceable and semi-anonymous) blockchain based solution would necessarily deem a better solution for them.

Exactly. And see my point in the post above.

"Does bitcoin encourage illegal activities?" Did these corrupt politicians not launder/steal/move/take bribes/etc. before bitcoin? Was every politician completely honest until bitcoin came along? If bitcoin were to disappear tomorrow, would all these politicians suddenly become completely honest again? Of course not. A tiny proportion of illegal activities take place using bitcoin, and none of them solely take place because of bitcoin.

Saying that one of the downsides of bitcoin is that criminals can use it is the same as saying that one of the downsides of the internet is that terrorists can use it.

Exactly! I find it nonsense when they go down with this argument. It is as if that fiats aren't also a tool to be used by the these said criminal activities which in fact involves way more money than what it is in BTC or any other cryptocurrencies. What should be done is to implement effective policies with regards to the use of cryptocurrencies rather than rejecting it completely because believe it or not, it would not minimize the criminal activities they are pertaining to. Fiats have a lot of disadvantages too and I don't need to enumerate what are those but we didn't abolish it but rather come up with effective policies to counter these and I hope that they would do so likewise in cryptocurrencies.

Though I believe that these new policies would not weaken the purpose of BTC at its essence but rather provide punishment to those people who would find ways around the law because of the outdated policies.

[o_e_l_e_o]

It is as if that fiats aren't also a tool to be used by the these said criminal activities which in fact involves way more money than what it is in BTC or any other cryptocurrencies.

I agree with you on this point.

What should be done is to implement effective policies with regards to the use of cryptocurrencies rather than rejecting it completely because believe it or not, it would not minimize the criminal activities they are pertaining to.

Not sure I agree with you here. What kind of "policies" are you envisioning? Who is going to be implementing them? What punishments will there be?

Bitcoin is designed to be uncensorable. Unlike fiat, I can spend my money on anything I choose, without needing prior approval from a third party, and without risk of a third party shutting down my account or freezing my assets. Encroaching on that encroaches on the very nature of bitcoin. Centralized exchanges are already trying to turn themselves in to a police state, monitoring their users, blocking deposits and withdrawals to and from services they don't like, seizing assets and freezing accounts, and that's one of the reasons I would advocate that people stop using them. If you try to implement something similar on a protocol level, giving law enforcement agencies jurisdiction over everybody's coins, then that would be the death of bitcoin as we know it.

We should be able to spend bitcoin on illegal goods, because if we can't, then it's because there is a third party stopping us from doing so and so bitcoin would no longer be peer-to-peer.

[pooya87]

How about duplicating through forking?

forks do not duplicate the main coin, they are creating a low quality copy.
for example if during 2017 you had 1 bitcoin by the end of the year you still had 1 bitcoin instead of having 50 bitcoin even though there were more than 50 different shitcoins that created a "duplicate" of bitcoin's code and blockchain.

imagine if you bought a scanner-printer device and copied a 1 dollar bill and printed 10 million "duplicates" of it. by the end you did not duplicate the US dollar supply, you just created 10 million garbage. the situation is exactly the same with all those altcoins that copied bitcoin.

[thebutton]

It is as if that fiats aren't also a tool to be used by the these said criminal activities which in fact involves way more money than what it is in BTC or any other cryptocurrencies.

I agree with you on this point.

What should be done is to implement effective policies with regards to the use of cryptocurrencies rather than rejecting it completely because believe it or not, it would not minimize the criminal activities they are pertaining to.

Not sure I agree with you here. What kind of "policies" are you envisioning? Who is going to be implementing them? What punishments will there be?

Bitcoin is designed to be uncensorable. Unlike fiat, I can spend my money on anything I choose, without needing prior approval from a third party, and without risk of a third party shutting down my account or freezing my assets. Encroaching on that encroaches on the very nature of bitcoin. Centralized exchanges are already trying to turn themselves in to a police state, monitoring their users, blocking deposits and withdrawals to and from services they don't like, seizing assets and freezing accounts, and that's one of the reasons I would advocate that people stop using them. If you try to implement something similar on a protocol level, giving law enforcement agencies jurisdiction over everybody's coins, then that would be the death of bitcoin as we know it.

We should be able to spend bitcoin on illegal goods, because if we can't, then it's because there is a third party stopping us from doing so and so bitcoin would no longer be peer-to-peer.

I don't think that Bitcoin being uncensorable would change with the the policies that I mentioned since it really is up to us on how much privacy we ought to share to others especially when we talk about Bitcoin and that, I think, is its beauty. The policies that I am saying is that there are solid ground to the laws with regards to fiats from their definition, extent and restriction that may not be applicable to Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies  hence those who are caught red-handed may argue and escape the grasp of justice.

It is not a matter of controlling but rather setting a ground to what it really is.

On 7 March 2014, the Japanese government, in response to a series of questions asked in the National Diet, made a cabinet decision on the legal treatment of bitcoins in the form of answers to the questions. The decision did not see bitcoin as currency nor bond under the current Banking Act and Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, prohibiting banks and securities companies from dealing in bitcoins. The decision also acknowledges that there are no laws to unconditionally prohibit individuals or legal entities from receiving bitcoins in exchange for goods or services. Taxes may be applicable to bitcoins.

As of April 2017, cryptocurrency exchange businesses operating in Japan have been regulated by the Payment Services Act. Cryptocurrency exchange businesses have to be registered, keep records, take security measures, and take measures to protect customers. The law on cryptocurrency transactions must comply with the anti-money laundering law; and measures to protect users investors. The Payment Services Act defines “cryptocurrency” as a property value. The Act also states that cryptocurrency is limited to property values that are stored electronically on electronic devices, not a legal tender.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory

Also, by doing so, it could foster mass adoption with regards to Bitcoin with such legalization since people are more inclined to trust or rather willing to learn this new technology which are hindered mostly by their prejudices especially due to the media.

It is always up to you where to spend your bitcoins (like fiats) whether in spending it on legal and illegal goods or services but in doing so doesn't mean that you get away with the responsibilities on doing so.

[cryptoaddictchie]

Illegal trading, goods, and services, account for several of the largest markets in the world. The illegal drug trade is the second largest market in the world,

That's suprising. It seems the world cant escape the fact that illegal acivity is the most source of markets in the real world.

The question is "Does bitcoin encourage illegal activities?". I suspect you are going to struggle to find examples of drug dealers or criminals who would immediately stop their life of crime and become honest citizens if they could no longer user bitcoin and had to use cash instead.

That's next to impossible indeed. So I guess this statement is true " Money is the root of all evil" hell they would stop their wrong doings. Im not pessimistic guy but if bitcoin were gonna be used for this scheme even we promote the advantages of decentralization the fact that there are activities like these would always drag down the image of its usage

So any solution for this? I guess none right. We just need to accept the fact that there are always a reason to pull down the decentralized space of BTC

[XenoFever]

As we know every action have a reaction. Crypto currencies is a wider revolution for world economy. On the other hand we can't imagine world now without fiat currency. We don't know in future if all the countries crate their own native digital cryptocurrency. There is some advantage and disadvantages on both currencies fiat and crypto. Cryptocurrency doesn't mean they are decentralized by default. But for bitcoin is different from others since still it isn't controlled by any organization and we don't know who is the creator except imagination. But other currency have team and organization so they are semi decentralized in my opinion. Most advantage for cryptocurrency is we are our own bank. We do not need to keep our money to third party where fiat money is fully centralized and have to use bank to keep money. We can't ignore corruption on both currency, still there is happening.

Well said mate, both currency has its positive and negative sides, fiat currency is for daily use becsuse even though smallest amount of things can be bought as quick as is, if you want to buy condimence on the food that you are going to cook then you will use your fiat currency because cryptocurrency cannot do that.

[Swapzone]

5. Cryptocurrencies can be used everywhere

Well, not exactly.
However, I guess it's a matter of time.

[20kevin20]

~

I guess it's not so surprising that illegal activity is one of the largest markets - "illegal activity" is everywhere around us. Shops selling without giving you the check (or bill?), a lot of people evading taxes in some situations (say you bought something for $10 and gave it to someone for $11 but never paid taxes for the $1 you earned) we've probably all been through at least once during our lifetime, giving someone money etc. Some situations just seem too normal for us to even think we may do something illegal like tax evasion - and tax evasion apparently accounts for approximately $200B per year in the USA.

~

That's next to impossible indeed. So I guess this statement is true " Money is the root of all evil" hell they would stop their wrong doings. Im not pessimistic guy but if bitcoin were gonna be used for this scheme even we promote the advantages of decentralization the fact that there are activities like these would always drag down the image of its usage

So any solution for this? I guess none right. We just need to accept the fact that there are always a reason to pull down the decentralized space of BTC

Take fiat, precious metals, crypto, drugs and all assets used in illegal activity away and soon you'll hear news about some sandwich cartels or whatever other item they'd use. They'll always find a way to do their thing.

The only solution is letting cryptos be. The illicit activity in crypto accounts for much, much less than we think. Keep in mind that a criminal can lose their BTC by not properly storing it too.. and they have to first learn to use BTC and find someone who accepts it too! So it's not as easy as it sounds And taking BTC down one way or another will not stop this activity.

Agree with me or not, I'll always defend privacy and BTC! I'm now apparently officially obsessed with it

[KiloFoxtrot]

How about stable coins?  It's technically cryptocurrency but are pegged to a fiat currency's value. Any thoughts about where does stable coins really stand? Is it really cryptocurrency and is it really worth it?

[o_e_l_e_o]

It is always up to you where to spend your bitcoins (like fiats) whether in spending it on legal and illegal goods or services but in doing so doesn't mean that you get away with the responsibilities on doing so.

Sure, and if you commit serious crimes then you should be punished by the law, but we shouldn't be seeking to legislate against bitcoin in the process. If a bank robber is caught he goes to jail, but no one suggests we should ban cash to stop it from happening again. The same should be true of bitcoin. Commit a crime, the individual is punished, but the method of payment, be it cash, gold, bitcoin, whatever, is left out of it.

So any solution for this? I guess none right.

As I've said above, I would say that not only do we not have a solution, but we shouldn't have a solution. I've never spent bitcoin on anything illegal, but the day that a third party can decide to freeze or reverse my transaction because I've spent my own money on something they do not approve of, is the day I say goodbye to bitcoin.