Crypto Market Reacts to Binance IRS Investigation by Shedding $150 Billion

[LoyceV]

We see fines like these on a yearly basis, and nothing ever changes.

This made me curious how much money is laundered:

The estimated amount of money laundered globally in one year is 2 - 5% of global GDP, or $800 billion - $2 trillion in current US dollars. Due to the clandestine nature of money-laundering, it is however difficult to estimate the total amount of money that goes through the laundering cycle.

These fines are almost meaningless, and they certainly won't stop their money laundering behavior.

I was under the impression that fines are increasing (at least in Europe). Banks are creating large new departments for compliance, even if just to cover their asses against fines. Five years ago, when I sold half a Bitcoin, nobody cared. But if I do the same now, I can expect a letter from the bank. My impression is they now just mark anything as suspicious so that later on they can say they did their job.
Meanwhile laws on cash payments are getting stricter too. The lower the limit, the less privacy in purchases.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Five years ago, when I sold half a Bitcoin, nobody cared. But if I do the same now, I can expect a letter from the bank.

Five years ago half a bitcoin was $300. Now it's $20,000. If you had tried to sell ~$20,000 worth of bitcoin five years ago, would your bank have been interested then? Genuine question, as I've never used centralized exchanges so I'm not entirely up to speed with how their AML policies have changed over time.

When thinking about peer to peer, I know I can deposit a few thousand dollars at a time in cash, money order, bank transfer, etc., without any issue, but if I tried to sell a couple of bitcoin at today's prices in one go my bank would probably start asking questions.

Meanwhile laws on cash payments are getting stricter too. The lower the limit, the less privacy in purchases.

I'm surprised cash payment and cash deposit regulations aren't stricter, to be honest. The IRS require any cash trades above $10,000 to be reported, and obviously normal tax rules apply to any other business conducted in cash, but everyone knows various laborers or tradesmen who will give discounts for jobs paying in cash.

[LoyceV]

If you had tried to sell ~$20,000 worth of bitcoin five years ago, would your bank have been interested then?

I don't know.

if I tried to sell a couple of bitcoin at today's prices in one go my bank would probably start asking questions.

It's not that I mind the questions because I do anything illegal, but I don't like the level of private details they ask. For instance, they asked how much crypto I own. Can you imagine Bank A asking you how much money you have in Bank B? It's none of their business.

everyone knows various laborers or tradesmen who will give discounts for jobs paying in cash.

Isn't that simply to ensure they get their money?
If it's for tax evasion, they won't care about a maximum amount either.

[o_e_l_e_o]

It's not that I mind the questions because I do anything illegal, but I don't like the level of private details they ask.

This is my situation for all things privacy related. I'm not shopping on darknet markets, I'm not buying or selling contraband, I'm not funding terrorists, I'm not stealing anything, etc., I just don't think private corporations, banks, or the government, have any business snooping on all my activities. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Mass surveillance, including the type of financial surveillance being undertaken by centralized exchanges and banks, does not make us safer or reduce crime. It is simply a method for the government to control the populace.

But since I'm straying off topic, I'll stop there since I could rant about this for days.

For instance, they asked how much crypto I own.

My honest answer would be "I'm not sure". I know where all my seed phrases are backed up and how to access all my wallets, but other than the couple of wallets I access daily or almost daily, I only know a ballpark figure of what's actually stored on most of them. Or perhaps you could say that you don't own any crypto - all you do have in your possession are a variety of hexadecimal/Base58 strings which may or may not be valuable.

Isn't that simply to ensure they get their money?
If it's for tax evasion, they won't care about a maximum amount either.

No reason they can't get their money via a bank wire or similar, even before they start the job if that's what they want. There are a plethora of reasons people will want to work for cash - anything from tax evasion, to avoid wages being garnished for loan repayments or alimony, continuing to claim unemployment benefits, illegal workers (immigrants, criminals, underage, etc.), and so on.