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In the end, governments can not tolerate widespread use of cryptocurrencies. They benefit too much from the ability to print money in sovereign currencies to l
by gozur88 9y ago
In the end, governments can not tolerate widespread use of cryptocurrencies. They benefit too much from the ability to print money in sovereign currencies to lose control. They will use whatever excuse sticks - child porn, money laundering, aiding terrorism... whatever gets the public on board with new restrictions.
I believe that's why we've seen article after article lately about all the horrible people using bitcoins, plus scare stories about bubbles and how You'll Lose All Your Money. Concrete legal steps are on the way.
- speedplane 9y agoThe governments have not yet fully cracked down, but they have tested the waters with a variety of methods. The fact that they have lost over and over again further increases the bitcoin value. If a government were to really try to shut it down, there would be an immediate drop in crypto-currency value, but if the government was ultimately unsuccessful, the value would rocket up to even higher levels. Every bitcoin "investor"/gambler makes these tradoffs.
- gozur88 9y agoThey haven't started cracking down until recently because they figured there was a good chance cryptocurrrencies (bitcoin in particular) would collapse on their own or remain an insignificant niche. I think this year for the first time you have large governments which see bitcoin as a bona fide threat. I'm kind of curious to see how this plays out - how far they're willing to go and whether or not, as you say, they're ultimately successful.