You do know that MtGox website is registered under someone that is on U.S. soil, right?
You do know that MtGox is only an exchange and Bitcoin does not need it to succeed, right?
Unfortunately most people are using bitcoin as nothing more than a cash cow. If the exchanges go away, people have no way to convert it to their currency. When people have no way to convert it to their currency, it becomes worthless to those people. Let's be realistic, how many people do you think went into this without the thought of making money? My guess is very few. What bitcoin needs to survive the gov't attacks is trust in the buyers. Trust in the buyers = more buyers = more demand = rising value. However, there seems to be more sellers than buyers at this moment. Even if bitcoin survives the initial gov't attacks, there is the possibility of it gaining popularity and eventually rivaling the ever falling U.S. dollar. It's a slim chance but a chance nonetheless. Here is a fact. The gov't has swiftfully and successfully shut down any currency that has ever been a threat to the U.S. Dollar. The Liberty Dollar and e-gold are prime examples of such. Would be interesting to see what would happen.
The Liberty dollar people got in trouble for calling their money "dollars" along with other similarities to real US currency. My understanding is that they were busted for insinuating their money was backed the same way as the federal government...Bitcoin has never made any statements about value...it has been clear from the start that it is only worth what people will pay for it...like a baseball card (remember when those were worth something).
From wikipedia:
§ 514. Fictitious obligations
(a) Whoever, with the intent to defraud—
(1) draws, prints, processes, produces, publishes, or otherwise makes, or attempts or causes the same, within the United States;
(2) passes, utters, presents, offers, brokers, issues, sells, or attempts or causes the same, or with like intent possesses, within the United States; or
(3) utilizes interstate or foreign commerce, including the use of the mails or wire, radio, or other electronic communication, to transmit, transport, ship, move, transfer, or attempts or causes the same, to, from, or through the United States,
any false or fictitious instrument, document, or other item appearing, representing, purporting, or contriving through scheme or artifice, to be an actual security or other financial instrument issued under the authority of the United States, a foreign government, a State or other political subdivision of the United States, or an organization, shall be guilty of a class B felony.
(b) For purposes of this section, any term used in this section that is defined in section 513 (c) has the same meaning given such term in section 513 (c).
(c) The United States Secret Service, in addition to any other agency having such authority, shall have authority to investigate offenses under this section.
The minting of Liberty dollars also appears to be in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 486:
Whoever, except as authorized by law, makes or utters or passes, or attempts to utter or pass, any coins of gold or silver or other metal, or alloys of metals, intended for use as current money, whether in the resemblance of coins of the United States or of foreign countries, or of original design, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
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