One

[subSTRATA]

?

[Bitcoin Oz]

Only if they make it compulsory to have a bitcoin address to live.

[ElectricMucus]

The Bible is a work of fiction.

Anybody wanna discuss The Terminator or The Matrix?

[SgtSpike]

This has been discussed multiple times here before.  I think it is an idea that holds merit.

"In an effort to attempt to control and track transactions made through the now-ubiquitous Bitcoin network, the government has required every citizen to be injected with a NFC chip, with which they will hold funds and verify transactions.  Furthermore, a permanent government-provided stamping visually indicating that an individual has a valid NFC chip is required.  This unique, non-replicable stamping will allow businesses to easily verify the legitimacy of anyone whom they wish to transact with.

"Any violators conducting transactions in Bitcoin outside of their own NFC chip will face prison time up to 5 years and/or fines up to 50,000 Satoshis.  Subsequent violations carry penalties of lifetime in prison, or death."

Think about it.  How else would any government be able to control spending or track transactions other than through the blockchain, and having each address identify a specific individual?  And when 90% of transactions have identifiable senders and receivers, it would be pretty easy to track down the other 10% as soon as it entered the "legitimate" market of spending.  A black-marketer couldn't go and spend his loot at Taco Bell, for instance, as it would connect him to illegitimately-gotten goods.

I think Bitcoin fits in perfectly with this prediction.

[Monster Tent]

This has been discussed multiple times here before.  I think it is an idea that holds merit.

"In an effort to attempt to control and track transactions made through the now-ubiquitous Bitcoin network, the government has required every citizen to be injected with a NFC chip, with which they will hold funds and verify transactions.  Furthermore, a permanent government-provided stamping visually indicating that an individual has a valid NFC chip is required.  This unique, non-replicable stamping will allow businesses to easily verify the legitimacy of anyone whom they wish to transact with.

"Any violators conducting transactions in Bitcoin outside of their own NFC chip will face prison time up to 5 years and/or fines up to 50,000 Satoshis.  Subsequent violations carry penalties of lifetime in prison, or death."

Think about it.  How else would any government be able to control spending or track transactions other than through the blockchain, and having each address identify a specific individual?  And when 90% of transactions have identifiable senders and receivers, it would be pretty easy to track down the other 10% as soon as it entered the "legitimate" market of spending.  A black-marketer couldn't go and spend his loot at Taco Bell, for instance, as it would connect him to illegitimately-gotten goods.

I think Bitcoin fits in perfectly with this prediction.

The only thing this would accomplish is to get people to move to litecoin or one of the other countless coins. It only makes sense in such a scenario if bitcoin is the only payment method in existence.

If the government is injecting chips into people against their will you have bigger problems than how to buy something at taco bell.

[SgtSpike]

This has been discussed multiple times here before.  I think it is an idea that holds merit.

"In an effort to attempt to control and track transactions made through the now-ubiquitous Bitcoin network, the government has required every citizen to be injected with a NFC chip, with which they will hold funds and verify transactions.  Furthermore, a permanent government-provided stamping visually indicating that an individual has a valid NFC chip is required.  This unique, non-replicable stamping will allow businesses to easily verify the legitimacy of anyone whom they wish to transact with.

"Any violators conducting transactions in Bitcoin outside of their own NFC chip will face prison time up to 5 years and/or fines up to 50,000 Satoshis.  Subsequent violations carry penalties of lifetime in prison, or death."

Think about it.  How else would any government be able to control spending or track transactions other than through the blockchain, and having each address identify a specific individual?  And when 90% of transactions have identifiable senders and receivers, it would be pretty easy to track down the other 10% as soon as it entered the "legitimate" market of spending.  A black-marketer couldn't go and spend his loot at Taco Bell, for instance, as it would connect him to illegitimately-gotten goods.

I think Bitcoin fits in perfectly with this prediction.

The only thing this would accomplish is to get people to move to litecoin or one of the other countless coins. It only makes sense in such a scenario if bitcoin is the only payment method in existence.

Good point. 

I suppose I am envisioning an environment in which the governments force registered businesses to only accept payments via Bitcoin.  And if all businesses are thus restricted, then Bitcoin really would be the only viable currency to use for trade outside of the black market.

[SgtSpike]

"In an effort to attempt to control and track transactions made through the now-ubiquitous Bitcoin network, the government has required every citizen to be injected with a NFC chip, with which they will hold funds and verify transactions.  Furthermore, a permanent government-provided stamping visually indicating that an individual has a valid NFC chip is required.  This unique, non-replicable stamping will allow businesses to easily verify the legitimacy of anyone whom they wish to transact with."

There is no need to look far to see most business people in Bitcoin community cheering it. What is distrubing with that is that
they are the ones at key positions in Bitcoin food chain already.

Cheering what?  People being injected with NFC chips?

[Buffer Overflow]

The Bible is a work of fiction.

The Bible is a fusion of many ancient texts, manuscripts and knowledge. Certainly not something one should dismiss easily. It's not
like I'm into religion, but if you wanna tell me those ancient books suck, I'll point at 99.9% other books, that suck even more, many
of which already failed test of time.

Just because it's old and has unknown author(s) doesn't make it any less fictional. It's still been written by man.

[myrkul]

The Bible is a work of fiction.

The Bible is a fusion of many ancient texts, manuscripts and knowledge. Certainly not something one should dismiss easily. It's not
like I'm into religion, but if you wanna tell me those ancient books suck, I'll point at 99.9% other books, that suck even more, many
of which already failed test of time.

Just because it's old and has unknown author(s) doesn't make it any less fictional. It's still been written by man.

If an organization were willing to kill to force you to believe in the writings of Stephanie Meyer, the Twilight books would stand the test of time, too. Thankfully, the church has largely put down the sword, and Lo! people don't read that ancient book so much anymore.

It's a collection of stories, that weren't written down for decades, if not centuries, after the events in them supposedly happened, and which were ruthlessly culled at the council of Mycenae in a hopelessly futile attempt to make a coherent story out of them. You can find justification for practically anything you want, in there, as well as support for pretty much any claim.

I'll give it this, though: It's a hell of a story. More political intrigue than a Tom Clancy novel, more sex than a Harlequin romance (and some seriously kinky stuff, too!), and more explosions than a Michael Bay movie. But it's still just a story.

[goodlord666]

Thou shalt not exclude anyone from participating in economy. Thank you.

Any questions?

[TraderTimm]

The problem with the bible, and by extension other religious texts, is that they are modified and passed down by a network of people who have impressed their own interests and agendas along the way - under the guise of spirituality and "guidance".

Ever hear of the saying, "History is written by the victors"? Same thing.

While I think any system that involves little personal freedom and a surplus of surveillance inherently oppressive, I sure wouldn't be turning to a centuries-of-modified-text as a definitive source to measure its occurrence.

One of the disturbing reasons this technique has persisted so long is simple. You can use blind faith to motivate people to do the most heinous things, which is useful if you're building an empire or need a way to keep people occupied and fearful of imaginary edicts. (Which coincidentally, benefits the power structure you're making or maintaining.)

[J-Norm]

The number of the beast is your SSN. Just kidding.

Seriously though I would be more worried about Santa bringing me a lump of coal or my carriage turning back into a pumpkin after midnight than the fairy tale of revalations coming true.

Though I would not mind meeting the whore of Babylon... 

[cbeast]

The only thing this would accomplish is to get people to move to litecoin or one of the other countless coins. It only makes sense in such a scenario if bitcoin is the only payment method in existence.

The world is heading to just one currency, full speed. Many people and organizations in high places openly support and are promoting the idea,
UN included - check the Agenda 21 topic on this forum and elsewhere for the ultimate in controling others' lives.

"In an effort to attempt to control and track transactions made through the now-ubiquitous Bitcoin network, the government has required every citizen to be injected with a NFC chip, with which they will hold funds and verify transactions.  Furthermore, a permanent government-provided stamping visually indicating that an individual has a valid NFC chip is required.  This unique, non-replicable stamping will allow businesses to easily verify the legitimacy of anyone whom they wish to transact with."

There is no need to look far to see most business people in Bitcoin community cheering it. What is distrubing with that is that
they are the ones at key positions in Bitcoin food chain already.

Cheering what?  People being injected with NFC chips?

With business people, everything is of secondary importance to business itself.

"This unique, non-replicable stamping will allow businesses to easily verify the legitimacy of anyone whom they wish to transact with."

How many more big and small scammers this community must deal with before sentence above starts making the perfect sense, and chipping
everyone becomes the obvious and praised solution? I say not many. Just ask those that lost big amount of cash in previous Bitcoin scandals,
and those investing right now and / or having huge investments already what they think about it. Sure, many will deny it right now, but from
their actions and a goal, it is easy to see what they are praying for.

Ordinary people won't have any say in it.

NFC chips with deterministic keys would mitigate the risk of entities sharing personal data. It would ensure identity, yet also privacy. Bitcoin may be an ideal version of this.

[TraderTimm]

What isn't usually mentioned in these breathless-accounts-of-our-chipped-future is that any electronics are susceptible to localized electromagnetic fields. Gosh, what a tragedy, I happened to invalidate my chip *again*.

Even in the nightmare scenario, having bitcoin around could be more useful than we realize. I always take the grand conspiracy theory with a grain of salt.

The coordination involved to get the world to switch to a 'One World Currency' exceeds the benefit. And as the continued implosion of the Euro has shown, hooking your destiny to a bunch of other economies falls short when practiced in reality.

With that grand example, I wouldn't be fearing such an attempt - if it speeds the central banking system's demise, then I'm all for it.

[Dunster]

The other beast as located by Wolfram Alpha:

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=computer

Check out the frequency of the written word. 

[RodeoX]

Because this graphic shows a BTC symbol on a guy's right hand?

There, I have saved the world from the beast.

[evolve]

The Bible is a work of fiction.

This.