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The time is right now, because the government will most likely kill bitcoin as soon as it even gets close to becoming mainstream.

by rick888 15y ago

noonespecial 15y ago
the government will most likely kill bitcoin Which one?
- Udo 15y ago
  All of them, together. There are already lobbyists at work to criminalize the use of Bitcoin. And they will succeed.
  - adrianwaj 15y ago
    Why are you so sure? There'll be a counter-movement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Parties_International http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Parties_International "The party strives to reform laws regarding copyright and patents. The agenda also includes support for a strengthening of the right to privacy, both on the Internet and in everyday life, and the transparency of state administration."
    - Udo 15y ago
      I'm not so optimistic anymore. They(TM) believe we already have too many liberties because the internet is largely uncensored. Now Bitcoin comes along and it further undermines governments by providing an untraceable shadow currency - and currency is one of those things where they take their monopolies really seriously. Bitcoin is also very vulnerable to FUD attacks, not just because it can easily be used for illicit purposes but because statements about the flow of money are impossible to verify. I can see the headlines now: "Millions of BTC used for drug trade" and "96% of Bitcoin economy based on illicit activities" or "The majority of BTC go towards supporting child pornography". It's ridiculously easy to make these statements and they're impossible to disprove (not that it matters once these headlines air on Fox News). Killing Bitcoin is a lobbyist's wet dream to begin with. When lawmakers and bankers get wind of this it will be the censorship shitstorm of all time. It might even turn out to be the one vehicle they need to finally reign the "free internet" in once and for all. That said: long live Bitcoin! I'm actually a big fan, just not very optimistic about our future in general.
      - adrianwaj 15y ago
        You may have overlooked the rough diamond: the fact that auditing can be easier. Tax departments can just ask what addresses a person used to send and receive btc. People have to declare income already (and people hide income), and now people will have to declare bitcoin addresses! It's all online for governments to check. So a DNS-like system over bitcoin addresses is the answer.
        Udo 15y ago
        Users can generate as many of these addresses as they like- it's all completely anonymous. But even if Bitcoin had features that allowed this sort of tracking, it would still be a non-governmental free currency that is fundamentally at odds with how the old world works. On a technical note, this is what the content of a block address looks like: http://blockexplorer.com/address/1PbLcpBhxrMvgdcjwSgBatg1JiFiNy5kAe http://blockexplorer.com/address/1PbLcpBhxrMvgdcjwSgBatg1JiF...
        adrianwaj 15y ago
        Couldn't the client software just keep track of addresses sent and received in a log file, and when you submit a tax return, you send them that file? They then determine how much tax you owe (either a consumption tax or wealth tax,) and you pay it in bitcoin. The government can then inject or withdraw bitcoins from the money supply as it sees fit to promote or ease inflationary pressure. So the government has two sets of transactions: those accounted for, and those unaccounted for.
        Udo 15y ago
        In theory, a government-approved client could be implemented that is restricted to only send BTC to other government-registered addresses. There would have to insane restrictions on using and authenticating to the client software. And they would probably require the implementation to safeguard against unregistered addresses sending you money as well. All in all, shoehorning this into something approaching legal compliance would require stripping away every single point that makes Bitcoin worthwhile for end users.
forexmasterja 15y ago
And how is a government going to do that ??? Bitcoin is decentralized is the government going to go to everybody's house and take their computers away, and do this on a worldwide scale ?

The time is right now, because the government will most likely kill bitcoin as soon as it even gets close to becoming mainstream.

by rick888 15y ago

The time is right now, because the government will most likely kill bitcoin as soon as it even gets close to becoming mainstream.

noonespecial 15y ago

the government will most likely kill bitcoin Which one?

Udo 15y ago
All of them, together. There are already lobbyists at work to criminalize the use of Bitcoin. And they will succeed.
- adrianwaj 15y ago
  Why are you so sure? There'll be a counter-movement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Parties_International http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Parties_International "The party strives to reform laws regarding copyright and patents. The agenda also includes support for a strengthening of the right to privacy, both on the Internet and in everyday life, and the transparency of state administration."
  - Udo 15y ago
    I'm not so optimistic anymore. They(TM) believe we already have too many liberties because the internet is largely uncensored. Now Bitcoin comes along and it further undermines governments by providing an untraceable shadow currency - and currency is one of those things where they take their monopolies really seriously. Bitcoin is also very vulnerable to FUD attacks, not just because it can easily be used for illicit purposes but because statements about the flow of money are impossible to verify. I can see the headlines now: "Millions of BTC used for drug trade" and "96% of Bitcoin economy based on illicit activities" or "The majority of BTC go towards supporting child pornography". It's ridiculously easy to make these statements and they're impossible to disprove (not that it matters once these headlines air on Fox News). Killing Bitcoin is a lobbyist's wet dream to begin with. When lawmakers and bankers get wind of this it will be the censorship shitstorm of all time. It might even turn out to be the one vehicle they need to finally reign the "free internet" in once and for all. That said: long live Bitcoin! I'm actually a big fan, just not very optimistic about our future in general.
    - adrianwaj 15y ago
      You may have overlooked the rough diamond: the fact that auditing can be easier. Tax departments can just ask what addresses a person used to send and receive btc. People have to declare income already (and people hide income), and now people will have to declare bitcoin addresses! It's all online for governments to check. So a DNS-like system over bitcoin addresses is the answer.
      - Udo 15y ago
        Users can generate as many of these addresses as they like- it's all completely anonymous. But even if Bitcoin had features that allowed this sort of tracking, it would still be a non-governmental free currency that is fundamentally at odds with how the old world works. On a technical note, this is what the content of a block address looks like: http://blockexplorer.com/address/1PbLcpBhxrMvgdcjwSgBatg1JiFiNy5kAe http://blockexplorer.com/address/1PbLcpBhxrMvgdcjwSgBatg1JiF...
        adrianwaj 15y ago
        Couldn't the client software just keep track of addresses sent and received in a log file, and when you submit a tax return, you send them that file? They then determine how much tax you owe (either a consumption tax or wealth tax,) and you pay it in bitcoin. The government can then inject or withdraw bitcoins from the money supply as it sees fit to promote or ease inflationary pressure. So the government has two sets of transactions: those accounted for, and those unaccounted for.
        Udo 15y ago
        In theory, a government-approved client could be implemented that is restricted to only send BTC to other government-registered addresses. There would have to insane restrictions on using and authenticating to the client software. And they would probably require the implementation to safeguard against unregistered addresses sending you money as well. All in all, shoehorning this into something approaching legal compliance would require stripping away every single point that makes Bitcoin worthwhile for end users.

forexmasterja 15y ago

And how is a government going to do that ??? Bitcoin is decentralized is the government going to go to everybody's house and take their computers away, and do this on a worldwide scale ?