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This is an interesting exercise in legal argumentation, but it assumes that the US Government wants to push miners out of the US. It's not that they can't, it's

This is an interesting exercise in legal argumentation, but it assumes that the US Government wants to push miners out of the US. It's not that they can't, it's that they don't want to. Outlawing mining in the US would not disable cryptocurrency networks, because miners could still operate in other jurisdictions (and covertly in the US). It might cause a panic and disrupt some American-based crypto companies, but cryptocurrencies have already been shown to withstand panics and business upheavals. Crashing the price of Bitcoin doesn't actually reduce its usefulness to cybercriminals, as long as the market is still liquid. Worse, banning US mining would ensure that no mining rewards can be taxed by the IRS, excluding the US from the growing cash stream coming from blockchain rewards.

inlined 5y ago
Technically taxes must be paid on illegal activities too, so if someone gets caught with Bitcoin they also get slapped with a tax evasion suit.
eloff 5y ago
Only because they don't feel threatened by it. The uptick in high profile infrastructure ransomware attacks is the first penny to drop there. A second will one day be high inflation rates for the USD. I don't pretend to know when that happens, but history of fiat currency is clear that it will happen with certainty eventually. Bitcoin cannot succeed past a certain level because then it competes with the USD and becomes a threat. One way or another its days are numbered. Don't forget the US outlawed gold at one point. Competition with the fiat currency monopoly will not be permitted because it undermines the sovereign power wielded by the state.
- bingbong70 5y ago
  >Bitcoin cannot succeed past a certain level because then it competes with the USD and becomes a threat. It already is a threat to the USD and the game theory ensures anyone fighting against Bitcoin loses in the long run. If the US wants to lose miners/nodes, large holders, and fintech innovation to other more free countries, they should take the view that you are sharing, but they will also lose the future in the process.

inlined 5y ago

Technically taxes must be paid on illegal activities too, so if someone gets caught with Bitcoin they also get slapped with a tax evasion suit.

eloff 5y ago

Only because they don't feel threatened by it. The uptick in high profile infrastructure ransomware attacks is the first penny to drop there. A second will one day be high inflation rates for the USD. I don't pretend to know when that happens, but history of fiat currency is clear that it will happen with certainty eventually. Bitcoin cannot succeed past a certain level because then it competes with the USD and becomes a threat. One way or another its days are numbered. Don't forget the US outlawed gold at one point. Competition with the fiat currency monopoly will not be permitted because it undermines the sovereign power wielded by the state.

bingbong70 5y ago
>Bitcoin cannot succeed past a certain level because then it competes with the USD and becomes a threat. It already is a threat to the USD and the game theory ensures anyone fighting against Bitcoin loses in the long run. If the US wants to lose miners/nodes, large holders, and fintech innovation to other more free countries, they should take the view that you are sharing, but they will also lose the future in the process.