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Part of the way the legal system deals with fraud is by recovering money (where possible). With bitcoin, unless the destination wallet can be obtained, that is

Part of the way the legal system deals with fraud is by recovering money (where possible). With bitcoin, unless the destination wallet can be obtained, that is not possible. With cash, you seize the cash. Bank accounts can be frozen, Credit card transactions canceled, wire transfers flagged (http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/01/29/464859624/episode-680-anatomy-of-a-scam http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/01/29/464859624/episo...).

icebraining 10y ago
With cash, unless the wallet in which it resides can be obtained, that is not possible. I fail to see the difference.
- mediaman 10y ago
  I agree, the legal system doesn't do well when it comes to recovering cash from entities that can hide it. You can get a legal judgment against a company, but if it's fly-by-night, it winds up being a worthless piece of paper, and can become very difficult to recover.
- cbsmith 10y ago
  The law does actually have ways of extracting cash from people even when it can't locate the cash in question. It's harder, and less effective, but overall it works more than it doesn't.
  - icebraining 10y ago
    Yes, but that works the same for Bitcoin.
    - cbsmith 10y ago
      It could work the same for Bitcoin. It actually works better with Bitcoin as there actually is a complete transaction log. However, the law has frequently decided it can't treat Bitcoin like it treats cash, which has created problems...
    - cbsmith 10y ago
      Looks like they have other ways of handling it with Bitcoin: https://www.usmarshals.gov/assets/2016/bitcoinauction/index.html https://www.usmarshals.gov/assets/2016/bitcoinauction/index....
- bronson 10y ago
  It's much harder to hide 500,000 dollars in small bills than it is to hide Bitcoin.
- gonvaled 10y ago
  Hiding a wallet is much easier. You can even have several copies of it, so that you can hide it so well that you do not even care if you lose it.
- superuser2 10y ago
  Law enforcement has well-developed capabilities to surreptitiously follow the movement of people and objects through the physical world and wield whatever force necessary to sieze them where desired.
- rocqua 10y ago
  Bitcoin moves much faster and much further that cash though.

icebraining 10y ago

With cash, unless the wallet in which it resides can be obtained, that is not possible. I fail to see the difference.

mediaman 10y ago
I agree, the legal system doesn't do well when it comes to recovering cash from entities that can hide it. You can get a legal judgment against a company, but if it's fly-by-night, it winds up being a worthless piece of paper, and can become very difficult to recover.
cbsmith 10y ago
The law does actually have ways of extracting cash from people even when it can't locate the cash in question. It's harder, and less effective, but overall it works more than it doesn't.
- icebraining 10y ago
  Yes, but that works the same for Bitcoin.
  - cbsmith 10y ago
    It could work the same for Bitcoin. It actually works better with Bitcoin as there actually is a complete transaction log. However, the law has frequently decided it can't treat Bitcoin like it treats cash, which has created problems...
  - cbsmith 10y ago
    Looks like they have other ways of handling it with Bitcoin: https://www.usmarshals.gov/assets/2016/bitcoinauction/index.html https://www.usmarshals.gov/assets/2016/bitcoinauction/index....
bronson 10y ago
It's much harder to hide 500,000 dollars in small bills than it is to hide Bitcoin.
gonvaled 10y ago
Hiding a wallet is much easier. You can even have several copies of it, so that you can hide it so well that you do not even care if you lose it.
superuser2 10y ago
Law enforcement has well-developed capabilities to surreptitiously follow the movement of people and objects through the physical world and wield whatever force necessary to sieze them where desired.
rocqua 10y ago
Bitcoin moves much faster and much further that cash though.