Comment by ecocentrik

Comment by ecocentrik 14 hours ago

Cryptocurrency also empowers kleptocrats, dictators and warmongers to bypass sanctions and international banking controls, making it more likely that politically and economically oppressive states will thrive and persist for longer. The benefit to the individual is marginal compared to the benefits to actors that might limit that individual's other freedoms. Also, foreign exchange controls aren't the only form of taxation and there's nothing stopping governments from increasing taxation on something else to make up the difference.

Most arguments for cryptocurrency are just as weak as this one.

cherryteastain 14 hours ago

Kleptocrats, dictators and warmongers have been around for way longer than crypto. If sanctions worked, the likes of Kim family or Iran's ayatollahs would have fallen in the 90s or 2000s.

Crypto allows my family members to bypass arbitrary restrictions set by one such kleptocrat right now so the benefit is very much more than marginal.

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ecocentrik 13 hours ago

They had to transfer gold, US dollars or other physical assets to finance their operations before which made them significantly more vulnerable and restricted. Sending crypto to your family is a temporary solution to the problem of the kleptocracy economically handicapping their capacity to generate and retain wealth. Crypto enables the kleptocrat to transfer the wealth they steal from their country internationally with a significantly lower transactional cost and at significantly higher volume.
By sending your family money, as crypto or US dollars, you have to assume some percentage of that money is going to end up in the kleptocrat's pocket. If the funds are eventually settled through official exchanges in the country, its very likely that the government gets a cut of the exchange transactions. If its being settled by unofficial exchanges like street exchange vendors, those individuals probably pay some bribe or tax to operate that eventually makes its way back to the kleptocrat. Additionally you are offering the kleptocrat increased liquidity by operating with crypto. Assume the kleptocrat is the largest buyer of cryptocurrencies in their country.

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