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Sex drugs and Bitcoin
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Originally Posted by The Australian Financial Review
A research project led by an Australian expert in detecting insider trading has quantified the scale of illegal activity financed through the world's largest digital currency, bitcoin. About a third of bitcoin users are using the anonymous digital currency for nefarious activities, according to the research titled, Sex, Drugs and bitcoin written by Sean Foley, Talis Putnins and Jonathan Karlsen.
They found that 34 million to 36 million of the 106 million users of bitcoin have been using the digital currency for illegal activity. The research tracks illegal activity going back to 2009. One of the more interesting findings is that illegal activity peaked in about July 2014 and has been trending down since. In the process of conducting their research, Foley, Putnins and Karlsen have developed novel methods for identifying illegal activity in bitcoin. They say that much of this research can be transferable to any public blockchain technology.
That is significant because stock exchanges around the world are considering using the blockchain technologies that underpin bitcoin for settlement of equities trading. These technologies could ultimately be used in any industry that involves transactions between two or more parties. Bitcoin is celebrated for its anonymity, but the blockchain technology means there is a record for every transaction that has ever occurred. This unique quality was a huge benefit to the research by Foley, Putnins and Karlsen.
"Recent and ongoing seizures of bitcoin by law enforcement agencies, combined with the public nature of the blockchain, provide us with a unique laboratory within which to analyse the illegal ecosystem that has evolved in the bitcoin network," they said in their research proposal. "Although individual identities are masked by the pseudo-anonymity of a 33 character alpha-numeric address, the public nature of the blockchain allows us to link bitcoin transactions to individual "users" (market participants), identify users that had bitcoin seized by authorities, and analyse the network of who trades with whom. The bitcoin seizures therefore provide us with a sample of users known to be involved in illegal activity from which we can infer or estimate other bitcoin users involved in illegal activity.
"Our first approach to doing so is by analysing the trade networks of users known to be involved in illegal activity. Our second approach is to exploit characteristics that can distinguish between users involved in illegal activity and those involved in legal activity using detection-controlled estimation models. For example, for each bitcoin user we are able to measure the extent to which they take actions to conceal their identity and trading records. Using these innovative tools, we are able to approximate the size of the black market economy facilitated by this new technology, and characterise the nature of illegal activity involving bitcoin."
The starting point for the research was a bunch of questions. These were: What fraction of bitcoin trading activity and holdings is associated with illegal activity? What are the characteristics of illegal activity using bitcoin? How do the networks of illegal trade differ from those of legal trade? How do bitcoin users involved in illegal activity differ from those involved in legal activity? How do transactions associated with illegal activity differ from legal transactions? How can illegal activity be detected in bitcoin, or on a public blockchain more generally?
In seeking to answer these questions the researchers had to spend a reasonable amount of time on the dark web, also known as the "darknet". "The darknet is a network like the internet, but can be accessed only through particular communications protocols that provide greater anonymity than the internet," the research paper says. "The darknet contains online marketplaces, much like eBay, but with anonymous communications, which also makes these marketplaces less accessible than online stores on the internet. Darknet marketplaces are particularly popular for trading goods and services where buyers and sellers want to conceal their identities, for example, illegal goods and services. The darknet is estimated to contain approximately 30,000 domains."
The paper says that a user who wants to buy goods or services on a darknet marketplace must first acquire digital currency (typically from an online exchange or broker) and then deposit this in an address belonging to the darknet marketplace (often termed a "hot wallet"). The other element that has facilitated illegal activity online involving bitcoin is TOR (The Onion Router).
"By providing an anonymous, digital method of payment, bitcoin did for darknet marketplaces what PayPal did for eBay— provide a reliable, scalable, and convenient payment mechanism," the paper says. "What was also required, however, was an anonymous way of hosting and accessing those illegal marketplaces.
"This issue is solved through the use of TOR, originally developed by the US Navy. TOR hides the IP address of internet traffic through 'onion routing', which obfuscates the path (and hence IP) of a message sent between two clients by routing the message through several nodes in the TOR network. "The groundbreaking work has gained in-principle acceptance for publication in a leading international finance journal early next year. It is being undertaken in collaboration with the Sydney-based Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre.
The research is designed to help securities regulators understand the size of the task they face in attempting to monitor and regulate what is fast becoming an accepted asset class for institutional investors. It is extraordinary but true that bitcoin has quickly evolved from being the preferred digital currency for illegal purchases on the dark web to becoming one of the fastest-growing asset classes in the world.
There is a plan to have bitcoin futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange – one of the world's largest options and futures exchanges. We know from various actions by police in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe that bitcoin has been used on the dark web to buy drugs, avoid capital controls, launder money and pay for computer hacking. The recent global Wanna Crypt computer hacking attack demanded payment of ransom in bitcoins.
The most famous user of bitcoin for illicit purposes was the Silk Road drug site. When it was busted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation about $4 million in bitcoin was seized. But these illegal activities have to be put in the context of the potential value that may accrue to business and government from the use of the anonymous blockchain technologies that underpin bitcoin and its spin-offs bitcoin Gold and bitcoin Cash. A form of blockchain is being talked about as a possible solution for the settlement of equities trading in Australia and elsewhere.
http://www.afr.com/brand/chanticleer...0171129-gzvazw
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Have you see a bitcoin price chart lately? I bet this goes down as one of the largest "pump and dumps" in history. There's no way the current surge is due to a bunch of drug dealers on the dark market. This is due to intitutional investors.
Just watch what happens to the price over the next 2 - 4 weeks. I bet it drops dramatically. I guess I could be wrong, but there's no way the current rate isn't artifically high. I know it's scaring me enough to pull my money out now.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Hardly an apposite response Matt to an article that doesn't discuss the price of Bitcoin at all - but utterly predictable
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Didn't read the article, but I'm sure I get the gist. Bitcoin is horrible, only used by drug dealers, human trafickkers, etc. That's bullshit.
Look at the current surge in price. That's not drug dealers selling meth. That's institutional investors with billions on hand. Again, I bet this goes down as one of the greatest pump & dumps in history. I know I'm pulling my bitcoin out, because there's no way this is real.
Oh, and want to talk about bullshit when it comes to money? How about how Leo can't even open a bank account in Thailand because he doesn't have a work permit? Or how about how my Canadian bank said they weren't quite able to verify my identity over the phone, so froze my account, and told me to visit the nearest branch in person. Well, that would be fine and dandy if the Pacific Ocean didn't happen to be in the way.
With bitcoin, all that shit disappears. You don't need to ask permission from soneone as to whether or not you can trust them with your money.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
matt...i sincerely hope u have hedged your bets and not pul all your eggs into the bitcoin basket...
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Yes, all money is bitcoin now, as that's how I get paid, and no bank account anymore.
I'm done. Fell on my hans couple days ago, hurts to type.
Will reply better in couple days/
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cdnmatt
Yes, all money is bitcoin now, as that's how I get paid, and no bank account anymore.
I'm done. Fell on my hans couple days ago, hurts to type.
Will reply better in couple days/
Is hans some new german boyfriend. Can't wait to hear how this pans out.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Hand, not hands. Either either healing now, or just drunk.
Hand. A/C was leaking water, I rushed to see what Leo was calling about, fell, landed on my hand in wrong way.
Don't worry, I'm fine.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Serious question - so if a Bitcoin is worth around $10,000 today - can you then ( I assume) get paid in part Bitcoin ie a % of that one bitcoin to enable purchases of say just a few hundred pounds / Dollars / Baht etc ? And assuming that of course HAS to be the case is there a name then for that smaller part of a bitcoin or is it simply "I'll pay you .0003% of a bitcoin ? As I said - a serious question.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Yes, bitcoin goes all the way to 8 decimal points. So you can pay for something with 0.00047122 bitcoin, for example.
Oh, and the part is called a satoshi.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
For those who are interested, Reuters has just published an article on why the Blockchain - the technology solution on which Bitcoin is based - will likely be important in the future. And here's a link to a story about the Australian energy trading company that's using the blockchain
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Just fyi... the "blockchain technology" in and of itself isn't really that advanced. We're going all the way back to the Napster, Kazza, and invention of torrents days for this technology. Just add some cryptography, put a specific messaging protocol in place, and you have the blockchain.
The other difference is computer hardware resources continuing getting more powerful as the years and decades tick by. We're no longer reliant on companies who can afford data warehouses with massive server configurations. We are in the way of Google and things, but not for things like bitcoin.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Thanks Matt I understood every word of that.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Quote:
Originally Posted by
joe552
Thanks Matt I understood every word of that.
Reverting to my definition of the Bitcoin afficionado as a "high tech wanker", there's a recent article in the Financial Times headed "Bitcoin: an investment mania for the fake news era" and a summary that states "The cryptocurrency has attracted people who mistrust institutions". I think that pretty much sums Matt up
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Matt I'm intrigued (or just confused). You say you've given up all your bank accounts. Does that mean you only get paid in Bitcoin? What do you use when you go to the market to buy food? Genuine question
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Right now, I just flip say 80,000 baht into Western Union once a month or so, and have Leo go collect it. Then I can flip money into a Thai bank account in minutes, so that's how I pay rent.
But no, no bank account. Leo does have a Laos bank account, but apparently nobody in Laos uses bitcoin, as I can't flip money into it.
Used to have a Canadian account, but that's gone. My debit card expired, so I called them to issue me a new one, the lady said I couldn't be verified over the phone (total BS), froze my account, and told me I need to visit the nearest branch in person. Well, that would be fine if the Pacific Ocean wasn't in the way.
I can't get a Thai bank account due to my status, Leo can't get one because he has no work permit (we've tried, multiple banks). So at the moment, we're kinda stuck. There are companies that offer debit card attached to your bitcoin account though. Tried to order a couple from Adv Cash, but I guess due to Mastercard policies, they can only issue cards within Europe, and not to Thailand.
That, and I much prefer using bitcoin anyway. I've had money fezen in multiple accounts before that I was never able to get access to, I've had PayPal close my account and freeze the balance for 180 days, I've had my Moneris merchant account closed without warning for a chargeback rate of more than 0.5%, and so on... With bitcoin, you never have to worry about any of that.
That's why I was freaking out a little while ago when the price started falling, because I have nowhere to put all this money at the moment. I can't exactly just send Leo down to Western Union for that much, as that'd look a little suspicious.
Once settled in Vientiane, we'll make a quick 2 or 3 day trip to Hong Kong, and incorporate there as the corporate tax rate is 0%, and get some proper bank accounts again with HSBC.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Thanks for the explanation Matt. I have to say, I'd be freaking out too in your situation. Hope it all works out for you.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Quote:
Originally Posted by
frequent
.. "The cryptocurrency has attracted people who mistrust institutions"...
I mistrust them too - the last time I was in one I had a hell of a job getting back out!
:p
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Well, obviously I was wrong about my predicted crash. Current rate is 383,000 THB. Yee-haw! :)
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cdnmatt
Well, obviously I was wrong
We were all just to polite to mention it.....
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
So you'll be buying the beers on the 15th? Great.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Quote:
Originally Posted by
joe552
So you'll be buying the beers on the 15th? Great.
heh, not likely. Right now, I have a husband and two dogs to care of, and more than likely, will have a couple kids to take care of sson as well. Think I'll become a cheap charlie. :)
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Matt you're talking to an expert cheap charlie. Happy to pass on a few tips.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cdnmatt
Think I'll become a cheap charlie. :)
So it really SHOULD be Christian you've got coming up to see you after all then it seems to give you a few tips ! :)
And Joe FFS is it not enough that Matt's putting you up in a hotel and paying for your boyfriend de jour without you now tapping him up for beer as well, my god man have you NO shame ! :)
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Quote:
Originally Posted by
joe552
Matt you're talking to an expert cheap charlie. Happy to pass on a few tips.
Will be happy to spring for a nice dinner at that Italian restaurant (it's out fav). Just please, don't run the place dry of alcohol. :)
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
My god, hotel, drinks, sex AND dinner too now Joe - hell I'm almost thinking of tagging along myself now !
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
To be fair NIrish, Matt never promised sex. Just hotel, unlimited drinks and an Italian dinner.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
No, no... no hotel. :)
The hotel offer was for my nephew and his wife, but he's going to be floating around SE Asia until Mar 31st (work is seasonal), so I convinced him to wait it out until Vientiane when we have a nicer house. Right now, we don't even have a sofa. We had one, but the dogs ruined it, and never bothered buying a new one, because we wouldn't use it anyway. We do have a TV, but no idea if it works, as hasn't been turned on in ages.
Best for him to wait until Vientiane, when we have a nice house, proper Western kitchen, etc. If I'm really lucky, and get my way, even a swimming pool in the backyard. :)
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Matt you DO know that we're both yanking your chain re that hotel thing don't you !? But as for the sex I distinctly remember talk of a blow job being either offered or accepted so for god sake dont be welching out on THAT at least as hell that's half the reason poor Joe is making the trip in the first place as it's the only firm offer of sex he's been able to pin down for his trip so far by the sounds of it ! :)
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NIrish, you seem to know me too well. Judging by the photo Matt posted, it'll be Leo getting the bj, after our pasta dinner.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Btw, I just paid 0.224 (recurring) for a bj. Was I ripped off?
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Well if this all goes ahead and it turns out that Matt is genuine (and I'll just mention here that I have never said otherwise) then SGT may have to have to employ stewards to manage the crowd of members (who ought to be) queuing up to apologise to him.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
As a self proclaimed doubter I will certainly not be queuing up to aplologise.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Nirish guy
But as for the sex I distinctly remember talk of a blow job being either offered or accepted so for god sake dont be welching out on THAT at least as hell that's half the reason poor Joe is making the trip in the first place as it's the only firm offer of sex he's been able to pin down for his trip so far by the sounds of it ! :)
Is it the so-called Eskimo hospitality that we're considering here?
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Well, Pennyboy - being a doubter is one thing but there are members on here who have called Matt a fake, a fantasist, and a liar. I don't know if you're one of those members or not.
I know that apologising for stating incorrect facts (or even when caught out lying) is no longer the done thing on this forum, but it's the decent thing - and IF it all checks out with Matt then that's what I'd expect.
Is that so unreasonable ?
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
Quote:
Originally Posted by
scottish-guy
I know that apologising for stating incorrect facts (or even when caught out lying) is no longer the done thing on this forum, but it's the decent thing - and IF it all checks out with Matt then that's what I'd expect.
Apposite
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
The only one I want an apology from is a447. The rest I can just shrug off as typical forum BS and banter.
However, what a447 did was bullshit. Following me around the forum just after I went blind, pointing out every typo I made, berating me over each one, as if it was proof I'm not blind. All the while, I'm still terrified, contemplating suicide, and trying to figure out how to navigate this world in the dark. That was bullshit.
He's proven himself to be pretty spineless, all bark no bite type of thing, so I doubt an apology will be forthcoming from him. If anything, he'll just accuse Joe and myself of being the same person, or some shti, because that's how little of a man he's proven himself to be.
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Re: Sex drugs and Bitcoin
And bitcoin is now up to 414,000 THB. I could get used to this. :)