Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: Stringer on July 13, 2013, 12:41 am

Title: Legality of exchanging Bitcoins
Post by: Stringer on July 13, 2013, 12:41 am
With the recent changes in the BTCs climate, I was wondering about the legality of trading Bitcoins. Is it legal to buy and sell bitcoins longterm anonymously with methods like localbitcoins etc? I ask this because if I wanted to become a legit trader obviously I'd have to give out my info to the exchanges right? This means all transactions that occur on my behalf will be monitored. At what point does this become money laundering? Is there any wiggle room at all? I want to help circulate bitcoins anonymously any way that I can.
Title: Re: Legality of exchanging Bitcoins
Post by: Rastaman Vibration on July 13, 2013, 02:44 am
I can't really answer your question about money laundering or legality, but I remeber reading something about a bitcoin seller on localbitcoins getting a visit from the police. Check it out here:

dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=162443.0

Apparently selling on localbitcoins can attract heat  :-\
Title: Re: Legality of exchanging Bitcoins
Post by: Stringer on July 13, 2013, 03:12 am
I read through it. Long story short he gave some user on SR his localbitcoins info and through whatever channels LE caught up with him and searched his house not because of him selling bitcoins but probably because he's a user on a known drug haven and in some cases that could be probable cause enough for them to search his house. He wasn't arrested. His circumstances are a lot different from mine as well because he'd be mining and I'd be buying as I sell pretty much.
Title: Re: Legality of exchanging Bitcoins
Post by: Baraka on July 13, 2013, 06:43 am
Speaking as someone right in the middle of this:

-it wasn't the drugs
-it wasn't SR
-it wasn't another SR user
-it wasn't someone on the SR forums

IT WAS HIS BANK THAT GAVE HIM UP.

The guy we're talking about is a major bitcoin miner. One of the only people in Canada who has owned an ASIC rig since the beginning of the year. A few days before LE paid him a visit, his bank manager pulled him aside to grill him on his account activity. In many cases it was exceeding $400 a day. He told this story in the Security section here and thought it was kinda funny at the time. Then came his LE visit a few days later. He wasn't home so his clueless brother allowed them to search the home, where they came up with nothing.

He blamed me right away for giving him up to the cops. Then apologized a day later when he realized it couldn't have been me or anyone else on this site who gave him up. He never made the connection between his bank and LE at the time. The bank giving him up is the ONLY reasonable explanation for what happened to him. Too bad he hasn't been back here in about 6 weeks. If he did come back he could tell us more about what happened.

I know I'm completely wasting my time telling you all this since someone else will just repeat the same tired bullshit about how this guy was visited by LE for something OTHER than his bank giving him up  ::)
Title: Re: Legality of exchanging Bitcoins
Post by: Stringer on July 13, 2013, 01:12 pm
Speaking as someone right in the middle of this:

-it wasn't the drugs
-it wasn't SR
-it wasn't another SR user
-it wasn't someone on the SR forums

IT WAS HIS BANK THAT GAVE HIM UP.

The guy we're talking about is a major bitcoin miner. One of the only people in Canada who has owned an ASIC rig since the beginning of the year. A few days before LE paid him a visit, his bank manager pulled him aside to grill him on his account activity. In many cases it was exceeding $400 a day. He told this story in the Security section here and thought it was kinda funny at the time. Then came his LE visit a few days later. He wasn't home so his clueless brother allowed them to search the home, where they came up with nothing.

He blamed me right away for giving him up to the cops. Then apologized a day later when he realized it couldn't have been me or anyone else on this site who gave him up. He never made the connection between his bank and LE at the time. The bank giving him up is the ONLY reasonable explanation for what happened to him. Too bad he hasn't been back here in about 6 weeks. If he did come back he could tell us more about what happened.

I know I'm completely wasting my time telling you all this since someone else will just repeat the same tired bullshit about how this guy was visited by LE for something OTHER than his bank giving him up  ::)

Well even though you feel your words fall on deaf ears, I want you to know that I'm objective and I consider all possibilities. The bank selling him out makes a lot of sense when you consider the recent bitcoin regulation that has been forcing users to have valid verifiable information and of course a bank account so that all of their transactions can be monitored.
Title: Re: Legality of exchanging Bitcoins
Post by: spunjtom on July 13, 2013, 01:38 pm
Banks are the enemy in every way imaginable.  They are the enemy of the common man as well as bitcoin proponents.  On the other hand if you are a plain old drug dealer with a lot of money to launder they are happy to have your business.  Just use google to find all of the instances of large banks paying gigantic fines for money laundering.  This is called "impunity" and banks have it and they want to keep it.