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I disagree with this: 1. Idea of a digital currency was in the minds of crypto anarchists for a long time before BTC was released. I think digital currencies w
by DethNinja 4y ago
I disagree with this:
1. Idea of a digital currency was in the minds of crypto anarchists for a long time before BTC was released. I think digital currencies were mentioned in the "Assassination Politics" essay in 1995, which actually landed the author to jail.
So somebody was eventually going to build a digital currency with or without government intervention.
2. The typical Western elite or leader has a background in law or finance, and is generally not very technically savvy. This lack of understanding and interest in digital currencies meant that Bitcoin was largely ignored by them when it first appeared.
3. Large crypto institutions were well aware of the need to engage in lobbying very early. So long as these institutions keep on lobbying, there will be some protection against cryptocurrency bans.
4. Government is not all-powerful, and citizens are often the source of new and innovative ideas. Last time you visited a government service, were you impressed with their capability? Why do you think that those in upper echelons of government are more capable than lower ranks? While government may have an advantage when it comes to projects that require a lot of capital, for software projects this is not the case. Why do you think Google pays huge amounts to their software engineers? It is just to prevent them from creating competing software.
- sterlind 4y agoAt least officially, Jim Bell (author of the Assassination Politics essay) was not imprisoned for writing that essay, he was sentenced for tax evasion and using fraudulent SSNs. I'm sure they investigated him after publishing the essay, and charged him with what they could, but his 1A rights weren't violated. In general you're not allowed to advocate for violent overthrow of the US government, but I think decentralized prediction markets are abstract enough a concept (no material actions/threats against individuals) that it'd still be protected speech.