<story><title>Bitcoin&apos;s fungibility graveyard</title><url>https://sethforprivacy.com/posts/fungibility-graveyard/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>timoth3y</author><text>The author of this article minsunnderstinds what fungibility means. &amp;#x27;&lt;p&gt;Fungibility does not mean non-unique or non-traceable.&lt;p&gt;Fungibility means that a given asset is legally identical to all other instances of the same thing.&lt;p&gt;For example, every $20 bill and every share of Apple stock has a serial number that uniquely identifies it, but that uniqueness is legally irrelevant. You broker has no obligation to give you a specific share of stock nor your bank a specific $20 bill. Financial securities are fungible.&lt;p&gt;Bitcoin is fungible.&lt;p&gt;== Edit:&lt;p&gt;Commentators are confusing fungibility and traceability. They are very different concepts. Non Fungible Tokens are just as traceable as Bitcoin, but they are non-fungable.&lt;p&gt;I wrote a detailed article about this [1] a few weeks ago if you want to gory details.&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.disruptingjapan.com&amp;#x2F;what-three-card-monte-can-teach-you-about-nfts&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.disruptingjapan.com&amp;#x2F;what-three-card-monte-can-te...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>garren</author><text>Fungible simply means “interchangeable”, legality has nothing to do with it [0] (especially, it seems to me, in regards to a system that doesn’t seem explicitly subject to legal constraints like bitcoin.)&lt;p&gt;One bitcoin is, in theory, interchangeable with any other without a loss of value. However, bitcoins with a dubious history of transactions can, and apparently are, being refused in some circumstances. Clearly some bitcoins have less utility, less value, than others.&lt;p&gt;The traceability of a bitcoin leads to it possibly being rejected in some transactions, not because ant given bitcoin is (again, in theory) no different than any other, but because one bitcoin’s history may be tainted.&lt;p&gt;The “blood diamond” analogy seems appropriate - such a diamond remains a diamond, and is technically no different from a comparable “clean” diamond, but reputable dealers and customers will avoid them. Effectively rendering these diamonds of less value than others.&lt;p&gt;In theory bitcoins are fungible. In practice they are not.&lt;p&gt;[0] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.merriam-webster.com&amp;#x2F;dictionary&amp;#x2F;fungible&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.merriam-webster.com&amp;#x2F;dictionary&amp;#x2F;fungible&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>Bitcoin&apos;s fungibility graveyard</title><url>https://sethforprivacy.com/posts/fungibility-graveyard/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>timoth3y</author><text>The author of this article minsunnderstinds what fungibility means. &amp;#x27;&lt;p&gt;Fungibility does not mean non-unique or non-traceable.&lt;p&gt;Fungibility means that a given asset is legally identical to all other instances of the same thing.&lt;p&gt;For example, every $20 bill and every share of Apple stock has a serial number that uniquely identifies it, but that uniqueness is legally irrelevant. You broker has no obligation to give you a specific share of stock nor your bank a specific $20 bill. Financial securities are fungible.&lt;p&gt;Bitcoin is fungible.&lt;p&gt;== Edit:&lt;p&gt;Commentators are confusing fungibility and traceability. They are very different concepts. Non Fungible Tokens are just as traceable as Bitcoin, but they are non-fungable.&lt;p&gt;I wrote a detailed article about this [1] a few weeks ago if you want to gory details.&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.disruptingjapan.com&amp;#x2F;what-three-card-monte-can-teach-you-about-nfts&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.disruptingjapan.com&amp;#x2F;what-three-card-monte-can-te...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>sb057</author><text>&amp;gt;Fungibility means that a given asset is legally identical to all other instances of the same thing.&lt;p&gt;There are a number of bitcoin addresses that the United States has blacklisted. If you interact with them (including receiving bitcoin that once passed through those wallets at any point in the past) those assets are subject to seizure.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;home.treasury.gov&amp;#x2F;policy-issues&amp;#x2F;financial-sanctions&amp;#x2F;recent-actions&amp;#x2F;20211108&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;home.treasury.gov&amp;#x2F;policy-issues&amp;#x2F;financial-sanctions&amp;#x2F;...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>