This is such a clickbait title of the highest order. Two large local exchanges collapsed recently in what are most definitely exit scams. Cryptocurrency is still legal. You can not use cryptocurrency for local payments online and offline. There was only one place that had announced that would accept crypto (Bitcoin) as payment the week it was made illegal by the central bank. It was the local Rolls Royce and Lotus car dealership. The reasoning of the ban that goes into effect April 30 was for KYC and AML reasons.
Nearly every BTC post on HN is filled with comments deriding the usefulness of the currency, and yet we still pretty frequently see governments attempt to ban and outlaw the use of cryptocurrencies. Why are governments spending energy and effort to outlaw something that is so apparently useless?
Two things worth noting here:<p>- Not your keys, not your coins. Never keep in an exchange what you cannot afford to lose.<p>- Governments, <i>especially</i> tyrannical regimes that don't even need to pretend to respect human rights, will hamper your attempts at circumventing them at every step.<p>I wouldn't go so far as to declare the whole endeavor <i>hopeless</i> as some people have done here, only that you must be far more careful when covering your tracks. It's not a turnkey solution, there are few ways to get it right and a myriad ways to get it wrong, it sucks but it is how it is. If it weren't working, then they wouldn't be bothering trying to ban payments in crypto.
The news is misleading. You can still buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies, but you can't use them for payments. I think people in Turkey got a bit scared because of the previous burst, and now all wanted to withdraw their coins. We see a classic bank run here. Luckily, this one has a very low volume.
Extreme inflation and local currency devaluation drove almost everyone in Turkey to invest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This situation created an optimal environment for frauds and Ponzi schemes.
This is the equivalent of gold confiscation.<p>But because the government doesn’t really care about confiscating your bitcoins, they can just “force” exchanges to fail and “destroy” their monetary value for their citizens that way.<p>If you think just because you own bitcoin you are safe from government actions when shtf this should make you reconsider.<p>Exchanges failing is the equivalent of gold confiscation for a digital fiat currency like bitcoin.
How does this happen?<p>Why does everyone have their coins in a single place instead of their wallet? Aren't transfers in and out of wallets basically free?<p>I dont do cryptocurrency, so I'm not familiar with the buying and selling, but why aren't the coins you buy put directly into your wallet?
Total crypto noob question: What is the lowest cost way to convert some USD in a bank account into BTC? I looked at some exchanges and the fees seemed to be in percentage points which seemed outrageously expensive!
Exchanges are the low-hanging fruit for attempts to "ban" cryptocurrencies. This well-known pressure point has been used for years now. There's nothing new in that sense.<p>What isn't well appreciated is just how difficult it will be to ban the transaction of cryptocurrencies outside of a government monetary system. Remove the exchanges and there goes the leverage.<p>What also isn't well appreciated is that clamping down on exchanges is by far the best way to ensure a transition to a self-contained cryptocurrency economy that requires no on- or off-ramps.<p>The more governments try to exploit their leverage with exchanges, the more they drive use patterns that will ultimately render that advantage useless.
Bitcoin is doing exactly as it was intended. Disrupting the ability of corrupt governments to print unlimited currency. If it wasn’t working, they wouldn’t be banning it.