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It's just game theory. If banning it won't kill it (and it won't in this case), then you need to embrace it or lose out. The best they can hope for is to contro

It's just game theory. If banning it won't kill it (and it won't in this case), then you need to embrace it or lose out. The best they can hope for is to control the on-ramps and off-ramps.

spywaregorilla 4y ago
Banning the on and off ramps is effectively going to kill it.
- sph 4y ago
  You need to ban all on and off ramps anywhere in the world. If you can't buy or sell USD with BTC, but you can with EUR, and you can convert USD to EUR, you're back at square one, and I would argue making USD weaker in the process. No sane US government would risk losing its economic hegemony in that fashion. Some say it's by design, but I think it's just because of how our global economy and the Internet itself works. It's fine to hate Bitcoin, but it's got this viral quality to it that it is not to be underestimated in the macroeconomic and political scale.
  - missedthecue 4y ago
    How much is Bitcoin worth if the only way you can buy is by meeting someone in an alley with cash? Surely something, but probably not $23k a coin and forget $60k a few months ago.
    - sph 4y ago
      Not everybody lives in the United States of America. Case in point: this article. If Iran can use Bitcoin to transfer wealth across borders, and can't convert it to (i.e. buy) USD, but can convert it to (i.e buy) EUR, the next decade in geopolitics will be very interesting.
      - spywaregorilla 4y ago
        Nope. It's not "You cannot exchange USD for bitcoin". It's "If your organization exchanges bitcoin, you're gonna get the regulatory hammer". That affects every organization in the world that wants to do business in the united states, including shell corps, which is basically every major financial player that matters. The next decade will be interesting but not for this. The current price of btc is supported by large institutions. These disappear, so does the price.
        sph 4y ago
        > If your organization exchanges bitcoin, you're gonna get the regulatory hammer Does the American regulatory hammer have worldwide jurisdiction? US might convince the EU to follow suit, but what if China says "sure Iran, we'll gladly buy your BTC and sell you RMB", what then? These worldwide regulatory hammers that pretty much everybody (not just in the Western world) respects are called embargoes. Good luck embargoing China. Unless by regulatory hammer you mean the US military, then yes, there's a chance they could do something, but it won't be pretty for anybody. If it's just lawyers arguing, I'm telling you it's easier not to ban Bitcoin but embracing it (and extinguishing it) without weakening the US position in the world stage. > The current price of btc is supported by large institutions. This is just plain wrong.
        spywaregorilla 4y ago
        > Does the American regulatory hammer have worldwide jurisdiction? It has worldwide jurisdiction for any company that wants to do business with the US. China already actively trades with Iran so this would be largely irrelevant. And yet the CFO of Huawei was still arrested a few years back for violating sanctions. > This is just plain wrong. You're right, there's also crime and sanctions avoiders But kill the on ramps to clean western currency and this all falls apart.
- rufusroflpunch 4y ago
  It would hurt it, definitely wouldn't kill it. There's still an economy. You can use decentralized exchanges like Bisq, Robosats, etc to buy and sell Bitcoin, even if they banned every centralized exchange. You can also directly transact Bitcoin for goods and services in the underground market.

It's just game theory. If banning it won't kill it (and it won't in this case), then you need to embrace it or lose out. The best they can hope for is to control the on-ramps and off-ramps.

spywaregorilla 4y ago

Banning the on and off ramps is effectively going to kill it.

sph 4y ago
You need to ban all on and off ramps anywhere in the world. If you can't buy or sell USD with BTC, but you can with EUR, and you can convert USD to EUR, you're back at square one, and I would argue making USD weaker in the process. No sane US government would risk losing its economic hegemony in that fashion. Some say it's by design, but I think it's just because of how our global economy and the Internet itself works. It's fine to hate Bitcoin, but it's got this viral quality to it that it is not to be underestimated in the macroeconomic and political scale.
- missedthecue 4y ago
  How much is Bitcoin worth if the only way you can buy is by meeting someone in an alley with cash? Surely something, but probably not $23k a coin and forget $60k a few months ago.
  - sph 4y ago
    Not everybody lives in the United States of America. Case in point: this article. If Iran can use Bitcoin to transfer wealth across borders, and can't convert it to (i.e. buy) USD, but can convert it to (i.e buy) EUR, the next decade in geopolitics will be very interesting.
    - spywaregorilla 4y ago
      Nope. It's not "You cannot exchange USD for bitcoin". It's "If your organization exchanges bitcoin, you're gonna get the regulatory hammer". That affects every organization in the world that wants to do business in the united states, including shell corps, which is basically every major financial player that matters. The next decade will be interesting but not for this. The current price of btc is supported by large institutions. These disappear, so does the price.
      - sph 4y ago
        > If your organization exchanges bitcoin, you're gonna get the regulatory hammer Does the American regulatory hammer have worldwide jurisdiction? US might convince the EU to follow suit, but what if China says "sure Iran, we'll gladly buy your BTC and sell you RMB", what then? These worldwide regulatory hammers that pretty much everybody (not just in the Western world) respects are called embargoes. Good luck embargoing China. Unless by regulatory hammer you mean the US military, then yes, there's a chance they could do something, but it won't be pretty for anybody. If it's just lawyers arguing, I'm telling you it's easier not to ban Bitcoin but embracing it (and extinguishing it) without weakening the US position in the world stage. > The current price of btc is supported by large institutions. This is just plain wrong.
        spywaregorilla 4y ago
        > Does the American regulatory hammer have worldwide jurisdiction? It has worldwide jurisdiction for any company that wants to do business with the US. China already actively trades with Iran so this would be largely irrelevant. And yet the CFO of Huawei was still arrested a few years back for violating sanctions. > This is just plain wrong. You're right, there's also crime and sanctions avoiders But kill the on ramps to clean western currency and this all falls apart.
rufusroflpunch 4y ago
It would hurt it, definitely wouldn't kill it. There's still an economy. You can use decentralized exchanges like Bisq, Robosats, etc to buy and sell Bitcoin, even if they banned every centralized exchange. You can also directly transact Bitcoin for goods and services in the underground market.