22 sats \ 12 replies \ @nullcount 25 Sep 2023 \ on: Minecraft Server Will End Bitcoin Earnings After Mojang Demand bitcoin
I predicted this over 2 years ago on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/lightningnetwork/comments/pa4e47/comment/ha27ngm/
It's unfortunate how much effort is wasted in the Bitcoin community because innovators have done no research about what kinds of rules they're breaking. Then after years of work, they get big enough to be targeted and shutdown.
The same will happen to SN. They will be forced to issue 1099 tax forms to users who earned more than $600 in a year.
Yet SN is still here. And you're still here.
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Yea, and Satlantis allowed BTC transfers until recently too
I won't be here when SN starts KYC-ing users to issue them 1099s tho
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Why would you assume that SN will need to abide by some US requirement? Fuck 1099s, worst case: you can't use the platform is your reside in the US aka hello my VPN friend.
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Because "made in Austin, TX" is at the footer of every page on the site.
SN is also custody all the sats held in user wallets and the SN node handles all the withdraws.
Yes, there will be ways around it. But, IMO, SN should focus on a new model with respect to how users are paid, lest they become a central point for regulation.
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You raise an interesting set of points that I had no considered previously. Certainly something to be aware of, might be prudent to try and decentralize the infrastructure of this site as much as possible.
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Same. Had given zero thought to this. I don't think I'm in danger of earning $600, but even so, what would the maximally-decentralized architecture for a SN-like thing be? I assume there would be all sorts of interesting choices based on different threat models.
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Something like nostr where each user brings their own LN address and every tip is p2p without a middleman taking custody. Maybe theres a way for SN to generate a payment split, so from every tip made using the webapp, some gets sent to SN. But that won't stop people from tipping using their wallet and sending to user's LN address directly and SN getting no cut.
When these regulations get enforced on SN, it likely won't be too traumatic. Just depends on how much "the law" wants to make SN feel the pain. Best case, zaps are disabled for a few days/weeks while they find some other way to enable tipping. Worst case, they are forced to collect KYC from every user to "ensure" that users aren't making duplicate accounts to bypass the 1099 earning limit.
There are loopholes for things like "credit card rewards". Where users can get paid more than $600 and not have to report it. So maybe if SN gets a good legal defense, they can slide under this exemption.
My thesis is (unless regulations change), SN will have to become a Nostr client like Primal, Damus, Snort, etc.
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Worst case, they are forced to collect KYC from every user to "ensure" that users aren't making duplicate accounts to bypass the 1099 earning limit.
That really is the catch all that kills nearly every good idea that gets traction.
stackers have outlawed this. turn on wild west mode in your /settings to see outlawed content.
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YouTube super chats are just basically a one-time donation that YouTube/Google takes an automatic 30% cut from, in exchange for displaying a message the donor submits along with the payment, pinned to the top of the stream's chat for varying amounts of time (more money donated = longer time pinned/longer message length allowed).
The Bits thing on Twitch is more or less the same thing just without having the message feature necessarily tied to it, users can choose to use the "bits" in whatever way they want to, such as highlighting messages in chat or redeeming certain pre-set features determined by the streamers themselves, they wind up just showing up on the backend as income for the streamer the same as anything else. This is why it's preferable for most people who are using these platforms to simply go with a third party donation service like Streamlabs' payment processor or others who take a far smaller cut, though this proves to be too much to ask of most viewers (unfortunately).
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