this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2023
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Privacy
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A wise man once said "cash is king"
Although that brings up a point on how reliant we are on the banks, but a private crypto currency like monero is not yet ready for mass adoption.
I use it to pay for VPN and stuff, works pretty well IMO. There's potential scaling issues if too many people use it, but you can get around those by using XMR to privately purchase a different cryptocurrency with higher throughput. Tornado Cash was pretty cool too before they made using it a felony.
I think you can get it with a credit card through the Cake Wallet app by buying a different crypto first and then swapping for XMR, this is probably the most user friendly way, though I can't personally confirm. You can buy it directly on Kraken, though the account setup is some effort. Here is a curated list of reputable ways to acquire, trade and use crypto without KYC, if not providing personal info is a priority for you.
I don't think it's actually that terrible for privacy to get it initially with KYC, because all they will know is that you purchased $X of crypto, so it's comparable to withdrawing cash from a bank.
I'd avoid KYC for a different reason - I just can't trust an exchange to keep such sensitive data safe. I thought of using Localmonero first (the usual recommendation), but then found a friend who can sell it to me for cash instead.
No shortage of different ways but most of them require KYC which basically instantly makes it in useless. You can, however, buy from individuals using LocalMonero.
Already, I see a lot of stigma around cryptocurrency. I don't know if it'll ever take off thanks to stuff like NFTs ruining it.
Monero will never be ready for mass adoption. The problem is that it is primary used for illegal transations. Its effectively tainted in my eyes
Is cash tainted for the same reason? I think when a currency is good for commiting crime, it is an indication that the currency is well designed.
Cash isn't used for crime nearly as much
So much cash is used for drug deals that it literally helps to shape our (USA) economy.
It is a stereotype here that if someone has a lot of cash, they are either drug dealers or sex workers.
Hoo boy do I have some news for you.
But you actually don't know what monero is being used for when it's used in transactions, no one does. You just have a bias that if people want to keep their transactions secret, it must be illegal.
You could make the same argument for cash.
It's a little harder to lug around millions in cash without anyone noticing.
Not all secret transactions are illegal, but the people who are doing illegal transactions will do anything they can to keep them secret.
Not really. At the time cash was created it was simply for exchanging value, because we didn't have anything better. It's just legacy currency now.
Most of the people using Monero are drug lords are foreign counties. You can get similar privacy with cash and it doesn't have the same crime issue.
I also mentioned taler because it provides privacy for the spender but not the receiver. The idea is that there will be less ways to effectively take dark money while protecting the rights of the consumer
Same argument can be said for encryption LMAO
Not really
Seriously though why not? People pay for criminal transactions in USD, GBP, EUR. Do you not use these currencies?
No they don't. At least not much anymore. Most of that stuff is in Monero.
How do you think North Korea funds its nuclear program
Probably by not spending money on making sure it's citizens are fed and healthy but what a silly way for thinking for me, the answer is obvious you're right, they created a crypto currency and get the NYC mafia to pay for their nuclear program
Anything that is private is going to be used for illegal transactions. That is not Monero's fault. If you want it to be used for less illegal transactions, then use it for legal transactions yourself. I personally use it to pay for my life insurance, groceries, phone bill, etc. And as far as I'm aware, none of those are illegal transactions.
I’m surprised at your list things you pay for with it. How does that work? Is there a gotcha and you are not actually using it but converting it to fiat at the time of purchase? For instance, what grocer accepts Monero?
For now, it's primarily through gift cards, or friends willing to send me fiat, and take Monero. However, I am one of those people who will actually pay more for something if I can pay for it directly in Monero. As an example of this, I get fresh coffee beans from gratuitas.org because they run their business in Monero. It is way more expensive than buying coffee from the store, but I am willing to do it just because they accept Monero only. My phone bill and groceries are paid via gift cards to Instacart and my phone carriers gift cards and life insurance is paid through Fiat with a friend who accepts Monero and sends me Fiat.