BitCoin burning is the process by which digital currency miners and developers can remove bitcoins from circulation, thereby slowing down inflation rates or reducing the total circulating supply of bitcoins.
Isn't burning bitcoins a kind of fraud?
2 Answers
BitCoin burning is the process by which digital currency miners and developers can remove bitcoins from circulation
I think you'll find that "Bitcoin burning" refers to owners of Bitcoin burning their own money (not anyone elses) by the equivalent of sending it to an address that no-one owns.
It is not something that miners or developers do with other people's money.
Isn't burning bitcoins a kind of fraud?
One definition of fraud is
wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.
Burning your own Bitcoin (and no-one else can) is not a way to deceive others (at least not in any obvious way) and does not by itself result in any financial gain for the person burning their own money.
It is not fraud, per se, to burn your own money.
answered Jun 3, 2021 at 9:13
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If this action leads to some kind of famine in the cryptocurrency market, then it can be considered a criminal act.– AirGapCommented Jun 3, 2021 at 10:49
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@AirGap: (1) Not all criminal acts are frauds. (2) The consensus view among Bitcoin owners is that they are very happy when someone else burns their Bitcoin because general Bitcoin owners perceive that act increases the value of the remaining Bitcoins. Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 10:59
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2@MCCCS: (1) The question was whether it was fraud, not about other law. (2) The question was about Bitcoin, not USD or USDT. Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 11:02
Are they lying about something? Not really. This would be like if you put a bunch of money in a vault, threw away the key, buried the vault, and then wiped your memory so you don't know where it's buried. Would that be fraud?
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The consequences of this action can be devastating for others. And those who do so knowingly will face legal consequences. This is different from what you do unintentionally.– AirGapCommented Jun 3, 2021 at 10:55
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3Why would destroying something you own have devastating effects on others? I can happily burn wood I own, or throw dishware on the ground if it makes me happy. There is no reason why the same wouldn't be true for cryptocurrency - you can do with it what you want. For fiat currencies there are often specific laws preventing this, as they are national bank obligations, not fully "owned" by the holder. Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 20:14