Oddbean

Who really cares about shady darknet markets? It's not for normal people, not for hardworking people with families, not for farmers, artists or anyone really. It's for script kiddies and criminals. All you find there is hard drugs, guns, data leaks, hitman/doxxing/harassment services, cp, or other crazy illegal stuff. I'm starting to believe that most #xmr users might be in fact hardcore criminals hiding from 3-letter agencies. The DNM argument is thrown everytime by #monero people, it seems that it's the only thing that matters to them.

Bitcoin was born out of darknet markets. Are you that ignorant? It's the testing ground. If your crypto can make it there it can make it anywhere. It's a highly adversarial environment. That's why it's important.

Truly seems ignorant. Bitcoin was expected to be private enough back in 2009. Today is well-known that isn't the case. It is a nice virtual coin to play casino and other games, but isn't a crypto currency since many years. Just a reminder that the Latin meaning of "crypto" means "hidden", "private". Nowadays that is best represented by Monero which is the reason why we keep using it.

Lightning is non-existent on Darknet Markets for good reason. It isn't completely private. Even if you run your own node and aren't on custodial wallets or LSPs like 95% of users (almost no privacy) - Receiver privacy is terrible, and hidden balances can be discovered by probing. Opening and closing channels also leaks data on chain.

That same argument was used in 2009 to claim bitcoin was "private enough". What we learned in my generation is that it just wasn't. Monero solved this topic completely without acrobacies or doubts. It solved it so well that the US gov. even placed a bounty to break that privacy. No such bounty was ever placed for Lightning or any other coin claiming to respect our privacy.

Other coins and fiat lacking privacy/anonymity has nothing to do with Monero. But yes, you can mine Monero if you want. A p2p coin swap to Monero with another crypto just looks like address1 sent to address2 on the other coin. Third party correlation between both chains is not possible since you can't see amounts and addresses on Monero. So no one knows that a swap even took place. While with Bitcoin it is possible and fairly trivial. The person you swap with can also peek into your full or partial balance. Also not possible with Monero. You can also get Monero by mailing physical cash p2p which is private and anonymous. No third party knows you received Monero at all. That is not true for Bitcoin and most other cryptos where everyone in the world can see the blockchain. The supply discussion is a separate argument. Pedersen commitments guarantees supply, and the first time a coin is mined the amount is briefly transparent as it enters into circulating supply (so you can manually count if you want to). But if this still worries you, continue saving long term with Bitcoin, and only use Monero to spend/receive where possible.

You can't mine monero profitably anymore. Usually what you do is to use your hardware to mine some other coin that is profitable at that moment using nicehash: https://www.nicehash.com/ And then convert that money to monero for permanent value. Zero KYC.

All depends. First step is always running your own lightning node (which the vast majority don't do). But even after that there are a lot of caveats. Here are a few links with the technical details: bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/state-of-bitcoin-lightning-network-privacy https://abytesjourney.com/lightning-privacy/ https://github.com/lnbook/lnbook/blob/develop/16_security_privacy_ln.asciidoc#attacks-on-lightning https://lightningprivacy.com/en/introduction "We identified 27,183 private channels, discovered hidden balances, and showed how a passive adversary can infer payment endpoints with very high probability." https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.12470.pdf

It's not called crypto because the transactions are hidden. Encryption is used to ensure only the coins owner can spend them. Bitcoin was never private. In fact the opposite it is a "public ledger" Monero is private and meant to be, which is why governments are clamping down hard on it. While I'm a Bitcoiner, I do think privacy coins are important and should be supported as a government resistant payment layer.

Who told you "Bitcoin is private"? Why all these strawman arguments?? It's a **public** ledger. A **straw man argument**, sometimes referred to as a **straw person argument**, is a **logical fallacy** where an individual distorts an opposing position into an **extreme version** of itself and then **argues against that exaggerated version**. Here's how it works: 1. **Distortion**: The arguer takes the opposing point of view and **strips it of nuance**, often **misrepresenting it negatively**. 2. **Extreme Version**: They create an **imaginary caricature** of the opposing argument, making it **easier to attack**. 3. **Avoiding Nuanced Debate**: Instead of engaging with the actual argument, they **focus on this distorted version**. Imagine arguing with a scarecrow: you can make any argument you want, and the scarecrow won't argue back. By positioning the scarecrow's argument in a way that suits you, you create a straw man. It's like arguing against an imaginary opponent, making your own argument sound infallible. However, this fallacy avoids addressing the **relevant components** of the opponent's position¹²³. So, next time you encounter a straw man, remember that it's akin to battling a scarecrow—an illusion that lacks substance. 🌾🤔. Source: Conversation with Bing, 15/02/2024 (1) What Is a Straw Man Argument? Definition and Examples. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/straw-man-fallacy/. (2) What is a Straw Man Argument? - Language Humanities. https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-is-a-straw-man-argument.htm. (3) Definition and Examples of the Straw Man Fallacy - ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/straw-man-fallacy-1692144. (4) What Is Straw Man Fallacy? | Definition & Examples - Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/fallacies/straw-man-fallacy/. (5) Strawman Arguments: What They Are and How to Counter Them. https://effectiviology.com/straw-man-arguments-recognize-counter-use/. (6) en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man.