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It is also good for bitcoin because suddenly the government admits by its actions that it is indeed a currency.

jerf 13y ago
There's never been any question about whether the government will see it as a currency for the purposes of buying drugs, or avoiding taxes, or anything else it perceives to be you using BitCoin to avoid its laws. There's oodles and oodles of precedent on that front, not least of which is the fact you still must pay taxes on barter transactions, for instance, in which there is definitely no "currency" involved on either side. The question is whether it will ever see it as something that, in addition to being bad, is also at least neutral or potentially good as well. Or, put another way, when the government finds out you used BitCoin for something, is it going to see that as as neutral as using an Amazon giftcard, or is that going to be a presumption that there's something else shady going on? Perhaps even to the point of considering that fact alone sufficient to start issuing warrants?
- krapp 13y ago
  Did you watch the recent Senate hearing on cryptocurrencies? They seem to have already admitted that there are legitimate uses for Bitcoin, etc. I think businesses in general are more scared of it than the government is.
  - jerf 13y ago
    The Federal government is a big thing. A couple of Senators orally agreeing BitCoin might be useful isn't much consolation if the law enforcement branch decides to start treating it as de facto evidence of drug involvement. (To be clear, I'm not "rooting" for the government to find it that way... I'm just trying to look clearly at the situation and not conflate desires with reality.)
    - krapp 13y ago
      I'm not saying that would be impossible, but I just don't see the evidence as clearly-cut as others appear to. There's a 'desire' among some in the cryptocurrency community to see themselves on the front lines of a war against the state and regulated commerce as well.
dragonwriter 13y ago
> It is also good for bitcoin because suddenly the government admits by its actions that it is indeed a currency. Nothing in the complaint here does that in any way more than the government previously has -- the money being laundered here as US dollars, and the transaction limits that people are accused of structuring transactions to avoid are all US dollar limits on the currency being deposited to purchase bitcoins.

jerf 13y ago

There's never been any question about whether the government will see it as a currency for the purposes of buying drugs, or avoiding taxes, or anything else it perceives to be you using BitCoin to avoid its laws. There's oodles and oodles of precedent on that front, not least of which is the fact you still must pay taxes on barter transactions, for instance, in which there is definitely no "currency" involved on either side. The question is whether it will ever see it as something that, in addition to being bad, is also at least neutral or potentially good as well. Or, put another way, when the government finds out you used BitCoin for something, is it going to see that as as neutral as using an Amazon giftcard, or is that going to be a presumption that there's something else shady going on? Perhaps even to the point of considering that fact alone sufficient to start issuing warrants?

krapp 13y ago
Did you watch the recent Senate hearing on cryptocurrencies? They seem to have already admitted that there are legitimate uses for Bitcoin, etc. I think businesses in general are more scared of it than the government is.
- jerf 13y ago
  The Federal government is a big thing. A couple of Senators orally agreeing BitCoin might be useful isn't much consolation if the law enforcement branch decides to start treating it as de facto evidence of drug involvement. (To be clear, I'm not "rooting" for the government to find it that way... I'm just trying to look clearly at the situation and not conflate desires with reality.)
  - krapp 13y ago
    I'm not saying that would be impossible, but I just don't see the evidence as clearly-cut as others appear to. There's a 'desire' among some in the cryptocurrency community to see themselves on the front lines of a war against the state and regulated commerce as well.

dragonwriter 13y ago

> It is also good for bitcoin because suddenly the government admits by its actions that it is indeed a currency. Nothing in the complaint here does that in any way more than the government previously has -- the money being laundered here as US dollars, and the transaction limits that people are accused of structuring transactions to avoid are all US dollar limits on the currency being deposited to purchase bitcoins.