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Theres one big weakness in the use of cryptocurrencies: swapping back and forth with the local fiat currency at scale. All a government has to do is shut those

Theres one big weakness in the use of cryptocurrencies: swapping back and forth with the local fiat currency at scale. All a government has to do is shut those commercial ventures down, and the value of the $coin will disappear for those residents. Plus, unlike drugs and prostitution, the ledger is public and permanent… simplifying enforcement against the remaining fringes dramatically.

sneak 5y ago
> All a government has to do is shut those commercial ventures down, and the value of the $coin will disappear for those residents. So long as any of those residents can travel to another place where they can exchange it for hard money, that's not true. Countries do not exist in isolation.
- falcolas 5y ago
  Carrying large quantities of cash across a border is usually investigated by the border guards. If you don't declare it, you're breaking the law. This is compounded by how some countries are big enough that traveling across a border is a fairly significant undertaking (Brazil, for example). Not something most folks can or will do on a whim. Plus, you'd have to transfer a fairly significant amount of money to be worth it, making it more likely you'd run afoul of the border patrol.
  - sneak 5y ago
    It doesn't matter. As long as some members of society are willing to cross the border with cash, the availability of liquidity will be preserved (albeit with a slightly higher cost). "Most folks" won't need to deal with it any more than most folks know how to drive a semi full of groceries.
rglullis 5y ago
If they shut down, they will just push even more of their economy to the black markets. Also, anonymity is not yet something that people care enough. But it already exists - monero, zcash, or the Aztec Network on top of Ethereum. I can bet that any serious attempt from the government at chasing regular people based on their Blockchain activity would lead to a lot to adopt the "truly private" networks.

sneak 5y ago

> All a government has to do is shut those commercial ventures down, and the value of the $coin will disappear for those residents. So long as any of those residents can travel to another place where they can exchange it for hard money, that's not true. Countries do not exist in isolation.

falcolas 5y ago
Carrying large quantities of cash across a border is usually investigated by the border guards. If you don't declare it, you're breaking the law. This is compounded by how some countries are big enough that traveling across a border is a fairly significant undertaking (Brazil, for example). Not something most folks can or will do on a whim. Plus, you'd have to transfer a fairly significant amount of money to be worth it, making it more likely you'd run afoul of the border patrol.
- sneak 5y ago
  It doesn't matter. As long as some members of society are willing to cross the border with cash, the availability of liquidity will be preserved (albeit with a slightly higher cost). "Most folks" won't need to deal with it any more than most folks know how to drive a semi full of groceries.

rglullis 5y ago

If they shut down, they will just push even more of their economy to the black markets. Also, anonymity is not yet something that people care enough. But it already exists - monero, zcash, or the Aztec Network on top of Ethereum. I can bet that any serious attempt from the government at chasing regular people based on their Blockchain activity would lead to a lot to adopt the "truly private" networks.