Bitcoin Forum

http://nypost.com/2014/01/27/dea-irs-bust-bitcoin-pitchman-for-selling-currency-to-silk-road/

This isn't how the masses should be introduced to crypto.

There’s no such thing as bad publicity!
He his actions are personal regardless of his volunteer/official position.

There is absolutely such a thing as bad publicity when you combine it with misunderstanding.

Still gets Bitcoin's name out there. Any currency will be used for things good or bad. The public's perception of BTC will hopefully swing to more positive things over time.

That's right, this publicity is good for Bitcoin. It will guarantee, that in the minds of all Americans, Bitcoins are only for drug users and drug related businesses. Excellent news! O_o

Basically this! at the of the day there isn't anything better then bad news lol

Yeah, as disgraceful as this whole thing is, yesterday the masses of New York didn't really know anything about Bitcoin except that it is for nerds, and today they know that it is the new sexy high-value "thing" that is fashionable among drug dealers.  In America, this is one of the apexes of success.

The story is on every news outlet.  I hope we can get 1000 more identical posts about it here on btctalk.   ::)

And for betting on the 420 Bowl I--Washington vs. Colorado.

Yes, it will also be great when the moral middle American voting public scream for laws against that evil corrupter of American youth. The evil Bitcoin! Don't assume the outcome of this will be positive. The more people that know the more of them that can demand action.

Yup, like the way that this same group put an end to rock and rap music with terrible moral content, put an end to the drug trade, and all the other victories that they have achieved over the years.

They still fight hard against it.

This is the day before the NYSDFS meeting; I think this will become an unnecessary obstacle.

I didn't say they would put an end to it but it would make it easier if they didn't want to attack. Of course you can still buy drugs in America. Can you go to the corner store and buy drugs? No. It would be nice if we all don't have to use our Bitcoins in secret.

Comparing drugs to music is just silly. I'm going to skip commenting on that one.

Can't be that bad for bitcoin, I'm sure there have been more good news about btc than bad ones.

People on this forum are far too concerned with perceptions.

This is going to ruin Bitcoin's good name!

If everyone already knew what Bitcoin was this would do nothing. If TBF had not set themselves up as the premiere Bitcoin organization this would do nothing. If the main devs were not closely tied to TBF this would do nothing. Their are many perception issues here that will hurt when you attempt to recruit the average joe into Bitcoin from this point forward.

Sadly I fear you're right on this one. It won't kill us but it certainly won't help us.

This needs to be considered and discussed.

the war has begun

THere is no "no good for crypto" in that.

This is only "no good for guys like him" crypto is just another way of paying and stashing your profits. When you read about a drug dealer, you're not thinking "oops, not good for dollars", are you?

to me it looks like all the one guy did was run bitinstant, which committed the crime of being easy to use anonymously.  This is government cracking down on businessmen for not doing the governments job for them.  what a bunch of a holes.

The only difference in reality is that the USD is already cemented in your life where Bitcoin is fighting for new ground.

or you could read the indictment

I think this is yet another overrated "news/event". A CEO of an exchange (or any other individual or company) cannot represent bitcoin, because it's an open source, decentralized payment system. ;)

The media published mostly negative articles about bitcoin so far. Their attitude is laughable and didn't change much since I'm following them (2011).
The sensationalistic headlines and associated criminals have no effect on the the potential of bitcoin. I find all this FUD pathetic, they act like illegal activities and money laundering didn't exists in the old money world.

I think everyone knows by now what currency is used by the most high profile criminals :D

Anyone who worries about news like this shouldn't have bought any BTC or other alts.

No impact on spot price.

It's a non-event.

A lot of bitcoiners will know who this guy is but no-one else does. It's just another drugs bust running on from the Silk Road investigation. These events will always happen so long as drugs are illegal. How many drug traffickers or suppliers are found with large sums of FIAT on them? This really should not be seen as BTC related - it's a drugs bust.

I think bitcoin will do just fine, reading an article in Bloomberg never made me feel otherwise.

+1

if you really want anon it's cash all the way, :)

Dollars can't die because they are supported by government. Bitcoin is not.

Must be a really slow news day for this to make the first page.

Though I do think there is such a thing as bad publicity, I'm not sure this would be it. If Bitcoin was becoming mainstream to the point where most of middle America knew what it was, I wouldn't say.

As it stands, I'm more into thinking that regular Americans who have no clue what Bitcoin is will simply ignore the article and not give it a second thought.

Bitcoin will weed itself out of these problems.

More victimless "criminals" having the boot stamping on their face forever. Just a matter of time before every single localbitcoins seller is prosecuted for not harming anyone, because "economic liberty must be destroyed"!

Governments are trying their best to smear cryptos through the press, and steering unknowledgable people to believe that bitcoin and other alt currencies serve as a safe haven for criminals and traffickers....such a joke

You think Yankee can help me with a couple of warrantee returns on a some lock blade knives he sold me in the marketplace forum before he goes to the big house?

Bitcoin can't die because it is an "Idea".  Stop thinking it has to be called Bitcoin, or that it has to be SHA-256.  Satoshi Nakamoto could have called it anything, used any block reward system, any protocol.  The concept is the important thing here, people creating their own "method of payment".
Bitcoin, Litecoin, Feathercoin, Dogecoin, Catcoin, Stablecoin, Megacoin, an "as yet to be released" coin!
Get the idea?  The government "ain't stoppin nuffin!!!".  Think of trying to stop Bitcoin and related crypto currencies as a game of "Whac-A-Mole".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whac-A-Mole
The genie is out of the bottle, and it isn't going back in.

We are cleaning out the irresponsible, ignorant, and childish elements of crypto and actually encouraging people who are self-aware and know their shit to step up to the plate.

We don't need fools like DPR or this 'ceo' to have a crypto.

You are right. Crypto is an idea. It doesn't need you, most of all. :)

Certainly it's a black eye because there's a lot of people who don't understand bitcoin and quite a few uneducated people who already think it's only used for crime (not even close to true).  So something like this only helps feed those peoples ideas about bitcoin being used for illegal actions.

With that said, DPR being arrested was also front page news and a things died down and people moved on bitcoin was not only fine but it continued to grow in exchange rate value , adoption, and innovation.  Same will be true in this case.  Let the media fire die down, adoption and innovation continue to grow and bitcoin will be fine.

I give it a few days to a week or two for people to 'forget' and move onto more important news.

Very funny Honeypot/QuestionAuthority/TheButterZone.  Wait until we unleash the "voter verified voting system" that uses Bitcoin to allow people to cast anonymous yet verifiable votes.  Bye Bye rigged elections.  There are three kinds of people in this world Honeypot.
1. People that make things happen
2. People that watch things happen
3. People that don't know what happened
It is clear you are in the 2nd category.  Guess you missed out on making a ton of money on Bitcoin.

I agree, hence why we saw a bit of a crash yesterday.

Negative, but this is part of growing up. Growing pain. It is inevitable. Nothing is changed.

my sister emailed me and advised me to sell all my bitcoin right away because the government was cracking down..... so funny

whoeva paid for the story would be in the know and buying up Crypto's big time especially Moon coin, look at the timing

if they could they'd ban bitcoin