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null_object

In the interest of accuracy, the title of this post should replace ‘cash’ with ‘Bitcoin’.

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Venmo = digital currency

Apple Cash = digital currency

ACH = digital currency

Direct Deposit = digital currency

Bitcoin = Digital currency

Credit/Debit Card = digital currency

Cash = an annoyance

I guess you are trying to make a point but if you don't have your head in the sand cash and bitcoin mean the same.

> if you don't have your head in the sand cash and bitcoin mean the same

Not when it comes to blackmailing someone safely from another country.

There's a reason ransomware asks for Bitcoin and not cash, credit, Venmo, etc. It's the only non-reversible payment method on your list.

"It's the only non-reversible payment method "

Cash is non reversible.

> safely from another country

Again, there's a reason ransomware doesn't ask for cash. It simply doesn't work for ransomware style attacks; you need an immediate, irreversible payment method that doesn't put the ransomer at significant risk.

You don't need a cryptocurrency to do that. Things like Western Union payments, gift cards, and (if you're really fancy) running bank payments through multiple jurisdictions have all been used in ransomware attacks. Ransomware has been around a lot longer than Bitcoin.

If cash and Bitcoin are the same why would anyone ever use Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is pretty much digital cash, with all the same advantages and disadvantages. Cash just can't be sent digitally.

So, not the same, in an enormously significant way?

Yes, it's not the same in the specific qualifier that I explicitly mentioned. Digital cash. Don't be dense.

That difference is the entire point of the comment thread, though - the reason ransomware thrives on Bitcoin, but not on cash.

My comment was somewhat flippant and I genuinely don't want to distract from this terrible situation for all the victims, but seriously, this type of criminal activity has been enabled by cryptocurrency, and the journalist who uses 'cash' and 'bitcoin' interchangeably the way that the BBC has done in this article should be ashamed of themselves.

Cash may well be 'irreversible' in the same way as bitcoin, but how exactly would these criminals physically receive cash from all of the victims? How else would they be able to demand and receive these vast payments anonymously?

edit: I'd prefer to get counter-arguments for genuine questions instead of downvotes.

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