[The_Hoff]

> The options for payment were Bitcoin and Western Union; since I’m neither a Russian hacker nor a Dark Web impresario, I opted for the latter.

This is so frustrating for me to read. Western Union has its own set of problems and its users throw money away on fees, but why is cryptocurrency being thought of as a only being used by Russian Hackers and Dark Web impresarios?

[794CD01]

Because most people who use it are in one of those groups or doing business with someone who is. It is, of course, an unfair stereotype. It's just as popular among Chinese hackers.

[BEEdwards]

Because they accept it as currency when your local convenience store doesn't.

Who you can give the money too is generally a good indication of what it's used for and for better or worse bitcoin is for hording and illicit purchases.

[xkcd-sucks]

Also, why isn't Western Union thought of as only being used by illegal immigrants and Craigslist scammers?

[Analemma_]

> and its users throw money away on fees,

Have you seen the transaction fees for Bitcoin lately?

[flyingfences]

Still cheaper than WU. A typical BTC txn fee is somewhere in the ballpark of $0.50 right now. The author of this article paid WU a txn fee of $14 if I'm reading it right.