this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2025
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Here's the issue: How do you put money into crypto or take it out? A payment processor is how.
Crypto mostly just reinvents the same things. Its also usually not actually anonymous, as has been proved many times.
Some cryptocoins explicitly address privacy and anonymity issues, for example Monero (XMR).
And not even truly de-centralized, as most services that support it actually do it through a few centralized third parties instead of implementing it directly.
Also, in the US at least, every single transaction needs to be reported on your tax return. There are tools to help you do this, but goddamn! imagine compiling all of that each year if you used it regularly. I used it at one point and it was such a pain in the ass come tax season, that I just sold all my crypto the following year and never touched it again.
I traded it in person when I was just testing it out and didn't want any accounts. In theory if things get even more cyberpunk, we could use dead drops.
Good luck paying on Steam using dead drops.
Look, supporting game creators is really important to me.
I take money in and out via bank transfers with my exchange company.
You just need to know where to look for shady people in alleyways where you can buy them with cash. It's harder to find shady porn artists in alleyways.
Crypto also single-handedly invented ransomware. Like without Crypto, random Russian and North Korean hackers aren’t financially incentivized to target towns, hospitals, small businesses etc. There are legitimate payment processors other than just Visa.
I mean, ransomware as a thing has been around since the 90s. Crypto may have been the main factor in its skyrocketing prevalence, but it didnt "single-handedly invent" or facilitate the idea of ransomware.
Never thought about it before y'all's discussion, but how did they take payment before crypto? Gift cards like the phone scammers?
They didn’t, ransomware pre-bitcoin was basically just regular scams. Not even close to comparable to what goes on today.
I shit you not, literally mailing money to a PO Box in Panama.
That’s a nominally correct answer at best, like the scale of ransomeware then required the target to be in physical reach so you can physically hand off cash or equivalents. North Korea couldn’t extract money from Americans so they had no incentive to do so.
Lol at the crypto shills hiding behind that though. “it always existed so it’s ok” get out of here
I’ll take nominally correct. I’ll also take “I can’t handle being corrected so I insult people to feel better” for $200, Alex.
My main point was that ransomware is massively facilitated by crypto, but you’re arguing semantics to run interference from addressing that point.
Here’s a simple yes/no question. If crypto disappeared overnight, would the ransomware industry generate even 1% of the net income it makes now?
I genuinely do not understand why my comment has made you feel the need to repeatedly insult me. You seem to agree with my point but then continuously shit on me for seeking a state of correctness in lieu of the inaccurate hyperbole of your op.
First I don’t know what insults you’re talking about, unless just the act of disagreeing with you is insulting.
Second, I used one expression to make a point, which was that crypto is foundational to the existence of ransomware, specifically on the massive scale it exists today. And then in every subsequent comment I have explained that said point is my main argument. And yet you keep ignoring that point and instead hyper-fixate on some combination of semantic pedantry and perceived victimhood.