LocalMonero/Agoradesk to be taken down

[Synchronice]

I have not seen who authorized the US government to take on the main role of regulating the crypto ecosystem. They make regulations, punish, take away... too much power in their hand over something that should be decentralized.

I am not 100% sure but I think that Obama said something similar: America is a global superpower, it decides the fate of the world, it promotes the democracy in other countries and so on but what if one day America becomes evil? Who will stop America? | Yes, it's too much power in their hands but I think they'll soon lose it. Hard times create strong people, strong people create good times, good times create weak people, weak people create hard times and the circle goes on.

I know that this will not last, there will come time when privacy will be strengthened and improved in the near future despite the fact that they arrest developers and try to scare people but it's sad that still, for a while, we will not be able to protect your privacy.

By the way, what would happen if Bitcoin was anonymous at protocol level? Just imagine Monero being Bitcoin, what would happen? Would they ban it?

[examplens]

By the way, what would happen if Bitcoin was anonymous at protocol level? Just imagine Monero being Bitcoin, what would happen? Would they ban it?

Maybe it would be better if Bitcoin were banned in the US. Then they would only deal with their citizens, and not act as a global judge. The value of Bitcoin would certainly go a little slower, but there would be more freedom.

[Medusah]

America is a global superpower, it decides the fate of the world, it promotes the democracy in other countries and so on but what if one day America becomes evil?

The United States are already evil.  They are facilitating genocide and supporting widespread public surveillance. 

By the way, what would happen if Bitcoin was anonymous at protocol level? Just imagine Monero being Bitcoin, what would happen? Would they ban it?

They would likely enact laws that would make it illegal.  Bitcoin has been permitted to be promoted and traded as a commercial product by various entities, primarily exchanges, because its traceability minimizes harm to them.  Since at least 95% of Bitcoin users provide personal documents and undergo KYC procedures, it's not a significant concern for their government.

I think a similar scenario would unfold if Google Chrome and Firefox mandated Tor usage in their next update. 

[Blackbacked]

Operating them outside of the US or Five Eyes or Fourteen Eyes makes sense, but think about it though: Don't you think, that a privacy service that is running in Russia for example, will not attract the scrutiny of the United States? I mean, that in itself is enough of an excuse for them to sanction, if not ban the service even if no American had actually used it yet.

In this example U.S. govt don't have any real ability to ban this service.
Of course U.S. govt can declare sanctions, but they will mean nothing for operator in some unrecognized country like Russia.

[davis196]

I remember browsing the offers on Localmonero 2 or 3 years ago. All of them seemed really sketchy and I thought that Localmonero is a scam platform back then. Maybe I was wrong. Anyways, all centralized non-KYC exchange platforms will have to be taken down and go out of business at some point. I'm surprised that Paxful is still around, even though they require KYC. I remember that Paxful announced that they will shut down in March or April 2023, but they started working again in May 2023. Their shut down was more about a court case between Ray Youssef and one of his business partners and not about regulatory pressure or crime investigations.

[Synchronice]

By the way, what would happen if Bitcoin was anonymous at protocol level? Just imagine Monero being Bitcoin, what would happen? Would they ban it?

Maybe it would be better if Bitcoin were banned in the US. Then they would only deal with their citizens, and not act as a global judge. The value of Bitcoin would certainly go a little slower, but there would be more freedom.

The USA won't ban Bitcoin, banning it simply means that the USA is giving up and doesn't want to have financial influence over the world. From my understanding, they analyze that banning it is pointless and instead they try to become part of it, in other words, they recently approved Bitcoin ETFs. The USA won't ban it, they'll try to gain control over it and I think that the next step will be to get as much mining power as possible in the USA and then force miners locally and also internationally to filter transactions that they'll include in blocks.

[Medusah]

I remember browsing the offers on Localmonero 2 or 3 years ago. All of them seemed really sketchy and I thought that Localmonero is a scam platform back then. Maybe I was wrong.

LocalMonero wasn't a scam.  It served as the best platform for exchanging Monero for fiat currency.  Similar to Bisq, just not decentralized.  You communicated encrypted and traded peer-to-peer without intermediaries. 

The USA won't ban Bitcoin, banning it simply means that the USA is giving up and doesn't want to have financial influence over the world. From my understanding, they analyze that banning it is pointless and instead they try to become part of it, in other words, they recently approved Bitcoin ETFs.

Those suggesting that the US intends to outlaw Bitcoin are gravely mistaken, at the very least.  The government is actively seeking to monitor it extensively, paying millions of dollars for blockchain analysis.  With the approval of ETFs and the absence of any bans over the decade, it's evident that they aim to become part of Bitcoin. 

[zabzob]

All these recent events---de-listing of Monero from CEXs, arrest of Samurai devs, and now the fall of Agoradesk---were completely predictable based on fundamental principals of blockchain opsec. Useful as they are while they last, centralized services are never secure and will eventually be taken down authorities. And anyone running them risks arrest and dire punishment. The lucky ones will simply be put out of business and allowed to walk away with their profits, the unlucky ones will be made examples of: arrested, extradited to US and thrown into barbaric dungeons. Truly decentralized protocols like bisq and joinmarket are more robust, but they tend to have low liquidity due to technical limitations and downright laziness of many crypto users. Such is the impasse of crytpo in 2024, and for the foreseeable future I suppose.

But thanks to the folks who run services like Samurai and Agoradesk, they perform valuable service. New ones will surely appear soon to replace these fallen ones. No risk, no reward!

[Z-tight]

I know that this will not last, there will come time when privacy will be strengthened and improved in the near future despite the fact that they arrest developers and try to scare people but it's sad that still, for a while, we will not be able to protect your privacy.

I wish i shared the same hope as you, but i really don't, it seems to me that we are losing the fight for privacy and that is because only a small percentage of bitcoiners actually care about their privacy. As long as their coins gives them the returns they need and they can make money in fiat value from it, then they are fine with the government holding every information about them.

How will people use BTC privacy solutions when they fear that their coins may being treated as non fungible in custodial services after, and how will developers write codes for privacy softwares and services if they are worried of charges and jail time. I have a feeling things can only get worse from here on.

[Blackbacked]

it seems to me that we are losing the fight for privacy and that is because only a small percentage of bitcoiners actually care about their privacy. As long as their coins gives them the returns they need and they can make money in fiat value from it, then they are fine with the government holding every information about them.

Many crypto enthusiasts begin to understand that government can easily confiscate all their coins for any reason if they "show crypto" (use centralized exchanges to buy/sell, custodian wallets, don't use TOR and mixers). This understanding creates demand for privacy-preserving technologies. It is time to remember simple principle: you have shown your crypto - you have lost crypto!

How will people use BTC privacy solutions when they fear that their coins may being treated as non fungible in custodial services after

No problem if you know how to buy/sell P2P without using popular centralized exchanges.

and how will developers write codes for privacy softwares and services if they are worried of charges and jail time. I have a feeling things can only get worse from here on.

Developers finally will understand that writing real name and link to personal Facebook account is bad idea.
This way work almost all biohackers, and fortunately Satoshi did (otherwise there would be no Bitcoin at all as he will be arrested).

[Kavelj22]

The popular exchange used to trade Monero will be taken down completely by November 2024:

LocalMonero will be winding down
The winding down process begins May 7th, 2024, and finishes on November 7th, 2024. Our support staff will be available for help throughout this period.

1. Effective immediately, all new signups and ad postings are disabled;
2. On May 14th, 2024, new trades will be disabled as well;
3. On November 7th, 2024, the website will be taken down. Please reclaim any funds from your arbitration bond wallet prior to that date, otherwise the funds may be considered abandoned/forfeited.

It was expected that this is what would happen with this platform because of its support for the most important currency in privacy currencies, based on the attack on all privacy service platforms such as Mi xers, and after the successive cancellation of platforms for many privacy currencies.

The use of crypto has spread so much that it no longer left for ignoring or avoiding dealing with it. On this basis, everything that supports complete privacy is fought, including privacy coins, Mi xer platforms, and decentralized platforms. On the other hand, there is still something that cannot be stopped, which is the use of privacy currencies in peer-to-peer transactions because the decentralized Monero network cannot be disrupted by any authority.

It is expected that other applications will be targeted, for which there will be no solution other than activity in the hidden-web.