4 ms·

im starting to think bitcoin should probably be illegal. its perfect for criminals, with very little value for anyone else. its also potentially catastrophicall

im starting to think bitcoin should probably be illegal. its perfect for criminals, with very little value for anyone else. its also potentially catastrophically destabilizing for states. you are welcome to change my mind, but know that im not ignorant of it and have been "using" it since 2012.

LeoPanthera 9y ago
im starting to think cash should probably be illegal. its perfect for criminals, with very little value for anyone else. its also potentially catastrophically destabilizing for states. you are welcome to change my mind, but know that im not ignorant of it and have been "using" it since 2012.
- the_cat_kittles 9y ago
  good try. what about cryptolocker? i also find cash useful.
ycmbntrthrwaway 9y ago
If you make bitcoin illegal, criminals will use it no matter what or just find a way to get anonymous bank account if it happens to be cheaper. Making some technology that criminals use illegal (think guns, knifes, cash, computer networks, snail mail) does not stop criminals from using it and does not stop criminals from committing crimes even if they stop using this technology.
- the_cat_kittles 9y ago
  im pretty glad hand grenades are illegal
tyingq 9y ago
I'm no Bitcoin fanatic, but you could say the same for cash.
- ycmbntrthrwaway 9y ago
  There are people who want to prohibit cash, control the Internet, forbid guns. There are countries which do just that.
drcode 9y ago
You would probably like the Economist Kenneth Rogoff and his book "The Curse of Cash": http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10798.html http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10798.html It argues that cash, precious metals, and alternative currencies should be done away with and that we should all become dependent on digital bank accounts controlled and monitored by the government- That way, if a bureaucrat is confused by any transaction you are doing they are free to just freeze all your funds at a moment's notice. Hope you enjoy living in that world!
- ycmbntrthrwaway 9y ago
  > The world is drowning in cash—and it's making us poorer and less safe. > So what is all that cash being used for? The answer is simple: a large part is feeding tax evasion, corruption, terrorism, the drug trade, human trafficking, and the rest of a massive global underground economy. Don't expect me to be automatically convinced that tax evasion and corruption are making me poorer and less safe. Tax evasion makes everyone except the government richer and corruption makes it possible to buy freedom (such as in countries with drafting). States may profit from trade restrictions individually, but if everyone restricts trade of whatever he wants, world is just driven into Nash equilibrium, where everyone is poorer than without restrictions. Corruption makes it possible to bypass these restrictions by bribing the customs. So corruption also makes us richer.
  - tormeh 9y ago
    >Tax evasion makes everyone except the government richer Oh, really? The alternative to modern taxation is not no taxation, but rather massive taxation where it's hard to evade (for example customs) of the kind we had in the middle ages. While we can come up with arguments for and against this, there is a strong positive correlation between tax evasion and poverty, which means that the burden of proof lies on you. >So corruption also makes us richer So, would you say that the music industry's lobbying in Washington makes the US richer? Corruption is the mechanism by which established players stack the deck against newcomers, avoid environmental and health regulation and so on and so forth. Listen, governments make the world go round. Countries with bad governments become poor. Countries with good governments become rich.
sillysaurus3 9y ago
Bitcoin is new technology. It's a thing that exists now. Making it illegal will simply push it to countries where it's not illegal. History shows that's an excellent way for countries to become less relevant. It's like making alcohol illegal. The way to beat bitcoin, if you're a state, is to control it. For example the US government confiscated from DPR something like 7% of all BTC that will ever exist. China's mining facilities happen to control a large portion of the network's hashing power. The NSA has undoubtedly studied ways to DDoS the network. Etc.
- the_cat_kittles 9y ago
  making things illegal has mixed results. alcohol was a failure, im glad rocket launchers are illegal though. im also glad murder is illegal.

LeoPanthera 9y ago

im starting to think cash should probably be illegal. its perfect for criminals, with very little value for anyone else. its also potentially catastrophically destabilizing for states. you are welcome to change my mind, but know that im not ignorant of it and have been "using" it since 2012.

the_cat_kittles 9y ago
good try. what about cryptolocker? i also find cash useful.

ycmbntrthrwaway 9y ago

If you make bitcoin illegal, criminals will use it no matter what or just find a way to get anonymous bank account if it happens to be cheaper. Making some technology that criminals use illegal (think guns, knifes, cash, computer networks, snail mail) does not stop criminals from using it and does not stop criminals from committing crimes even if they stop using this technology.

the_cat_kittles 9y ago
im pretty glad hand grenades are illegal

tyingq 9y ago

I'm no Bitcoin fanatic, but you could say the same for cash.

ycmbntrthrwaway 9y ago
There are people who want to prohibit cash, control the Internet, forbid guns. There are countries which do just that.

drcode 9y ago

You would probably like the Economist Kenneth Rogoff and his book "The Curse of Cash": http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10798.html http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10798.html It argues that cash, precious metals, and alternative currencies should be done away with and that we should all become dependent on digital bank accounts controlled and monitored by the government- That way, if a bureaucrat is confused by any transaction you are doing they are free to just freeze all your funds at a moment's notice. Hope you enjoy living in that world!

ycmbntrthrwaway 9y ago
> The world is drowning in cash—and it's making us poorer and less safe. > So what is all that cash being used for? The answer is simple: a large part is feeding tax evasion, corruption, terrorism, the drug trade, human trafficking, and the rest of a massive global underground economy. Don't expect me to be automatically convinced that tax evasion and corruption are making me poorer and less safe. Tax evasion makes everyone except the government richer and corruption makes it possible to buy freedom (such as in countries with drafting). States may profit from trade restrictions individually, but if everyone restricts trade of whatever he wants, world is just driven into Nash equilibrium, where everyone is poorer than without restrictions. Corruption makes it possible to bypass these restrictions by bribing the customs. So corruption also makes us richer.
- tormeh 9y ago
  >Tax evasion makes everyone except the government richer Oh, really? The alternative to modern taxation is not no taxation, but rather massive taxation where it's hard to evade (for example customs) of the kind we had in the middle ages. While we can come up with arguments for and against this, there is a strong positive correlation between tax evasion and poverty, which means that the burden of proof lies on you. >So corruption also makes us richer So, would you say that the music industry's lobbying in Washington makes the US richer? Corruption is the mechanism by which established players stack the deck against newcomers, avoid environmental and health regulation and so on and so forth. Listen, governments make the world go round. Countries with bad governments become poor. Countries with good governments become rich.

sillysaurus3 9y ago

Bitcoin is new technology. It's a thing that exists now. Making it illegal will simply push it to countries where it's not illegal. History shows that's an excellent way for countries to become less relevant. It's like making alcohol illegal. The way to beat bitcoin, if you're a state, is to control it. For example the US government confiscated from DPR something like 7% of all BTC that will ever exist. China's mining facilities happen to control a large portion of the network's hashing power. The NSA has undoubtedly studied ways to DDoS the network. Etc.

the_cat_kittles 9y ago
making things illegal has mixed results. alcohol was a failure, im glad rocket launchers are illegal though. im also glad murder is illegal.