[TTPrograms]

Obvious no-true-scotsman. Believing that the goal of crypto is to circumvent laws regarding possession and theft is at most a fringe belief. The fact that this is at the top of HN demonstrates how devoid of merit crypto discussion here is.

[SantalBlush]

Circumventing property law has absolutely been a selling point of crypto, front and center, since its inception. The real no-true-Scotsman is saying, "Those who want an extra-governmental system of property aren't the real crypto fans." Yes, they are.

In reality, crypto's true purpose is a moving target, so it can never be criticized because that's not what crypto is really about.

[johnsonlambo]

I know too many people who aim to become millionaires off of btc and then move to countries without cap gains tax. I feel their sentiments are held by a large constituent.

[cft]

Crypto is also a white supremacy tool: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/02/05/the-charm...

[repomies69]

> In reality, crypto's true purpose is a moving target, so it can never be criticized because that's not what crypto is really about.

Bitcoin is a tool. Like hammer or a shotgun. You can use it whatever way you want. There is no centrally defined "purpose".

[floodyberry-]

Keeping the government from "seizing" assets is a big crypto goal, and avoiding taxes is included in that for a subset of users (which is "theft" if you agree with them). What to do with actual theft is kind of swept under the rug until it actually happens to a cryptobro, at which point they are very much in favor of a central authority getting their bitcoins or ugly monkey jpegs back.

[Waterluvian]

There isn’t a worthy discussion left to be had about crypto that isn’t discussing its role in fraud.

[capableweb]

That's such a sad view, especially to hold in a generally curious place like HN. Another example is narcotics, yes we know that most narcotics usage is bad, but does that mean all usage of narcotics is bad? Obviously not, and we take those articles as they come, and discuss the angles each article has independently, in most cases at least. But somehow cryptocurrencies are so emotional for most people, that they hold such a black/white view of it.

We can, and should discuss subjects without "tainting" them with general, over-discussed points when we can, especially if we want to keep HN curious and not turn into a echo-chamber.

[Miner49er]

It's where bitcoin gets most of its actual utility though. It doesn't have much use otherwise.

[fxtentacle]

All crypto uses that I hear about regularly seem to contradict that:

1. Chinese people using Bitcoin to move money outside of China, thereby bypassing government regulations.

2. People building private marketplaces (even if it isn't drugs), thereby avoiding paying taxes.

3. People doing blackmail and extortion directly and using crypto to try to avoid having the money tracked back to them.

4. People stealing electricity and then laundering that stolen energy by converting it into crypto which is then sold for money.

Really, name me any big crypto-based operation that actually pays sales taxes in all regions in which they operate.

[tootie]

Not OP but I think the true Scotsman isn't that laws don't apply, it's that the ledger is infallible and authoritative.

[vageli]

Is the ledger wrong in this case? Does the entity holding the key have access to the coins?