The GFC was partially caused by the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates too low prior to the GFC for far too long after the dot com bubble popped. When they finally pulled on the brakes we lost Bear Stearns and then Lehman Brothers and we have been dealing with the fall out ever since.

So arguably if the Fed had not screwed up badly in 2000 - 2006 we would not be here today.

Which makes bitcoin the grand experiment.  Of course bitcoin could also succeed and make the rich very rich and the poor very poor due to its deflationary structure returning the world's workers to the status of serfs to the tech elite.  That's also a risk.

And in no debt land you cannot get a mortgage so don't expect to own a house unless you inherit it.

Indeed.  Although the current price volatility of btc suggests not yet.

The concern is that they start losing control of the economy.  They cannot reduce interest rates when times are hard and increase interest rates during booms with the result that economic cycles will become more severe.

I'll get you started.

#

Don't sell yourself short there all sorts of tastes out there

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/meet-the-stars-of-channel-4s-secrets-of-the-living-dolls-men-who-like-to-dress-up-as-dolls/story-fnixwvgh-1226798638517

Presumably dollar cost averaging. 

It's not just having USD, it's having a credit card with a US billing address.

I live in Australia. Many Australians open US bank accounts when they are on holiday in the US and keep them stocked with funds so they can access various things that are not available in Australia like Netflix. Dodging geoblocking is a national sport.  

Bitcoin makes this easier.  You don't have to have a USD credit card with a US address.  Third party shipment processors them deal with the issue of the vendor not wanting to ship outside the US for physical goods.  

Volatility was low immediately preceding the GFC.

Australia has the same problems with the NSA as anyone else.

He compares bitcoin to the high end art market.

It's quite well known he owns a gallery in Sydney...

Zerocoin is coming (eventually).

So long as the bitcoin community is rife with pirates, scammers, fraudsters, conmen and hackers then there is a role for theft insurance. No one actually thinks air gapping, paper wallets or cold storage are ideal solutions (it's an internet based currency but the only way to protect it is take it off the internet?!  That's crap).

This could eventually lead to fully insured hot wallets which is where we need to be IMHO.

If you think the answer is individuals teaching themselves current best security practises then bitcoin won't get very far.  The average Walmart shopper is not going to teach themselves Linux just to use bitcoin.

At this stage it looks like he is just trolling.  But it's impossible to tell what he might do he obviously is a scammer and likes to make peoples life difficult.  Most lawyers stay away from people like this and most judges would have no sympathy but he is counting on you being weak and scared. Why not bullying is a very effective tactic.   

He is probably reading this thread now (hi!)

If you are really worried about it go spend $400 on one hour with a lawyer and he will let you know definitely what if anything you should change. Then you can continue to make his life difficult once you know the boundaries.

This is important.  Welcome Lloyd's indeed.

I think it holds promise but should be redesigned so that the escrow agent cannot steal the funds. If the funds become in spendable until the matter is resolved this is probably the most obvious path.

Scammer cannot win but innocent party can surely lose.

No one will trust an escrow service where the escrow agent can keep the funds. Nice try.

We need a "troll" tag.

I was promised a unicorn vomiting rainbows.  I'm sorely disappointed.

PS I think it's a great article for the general public. Very exciting and well written.

I read it again and now I know why I think it wasn't written by a lawyer.  


That's like saying US law and Federal US law.  It's redundant. Commonwealth law *is* Australian law and any lawyer would know that.  

So I don't think a lawyer wrote this threatening note.  I expect he who shall not be named wrote it.  So go ahead and get proper legal advice (shouldn't cost much - maybe an hour of time) it's still a good idea but investigate who you are dealing with on the other end.