2013-05-29 Why Bitcoin Enthusiasts Should Pay Attention To Liberty Reserve's ..

[bitbitcoins]

From Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/05/28/why-bitcoin-enthusiasts-should-pay-attention-to-liberty-reserves-shuttering/

[aigeezer]

"As Tim Lee of the Washington Post notes, the way Liberty Reserve is described in the indictment “could just as easily describe Bitcoin.”"

Nasty, nasty stuff. "The way it is described" may or may not have much to do with "the way it actually is". I think everyone here knows there are immense differences between LR and BTC. What's emerging is a campaign of (mis)perception. It's getting ugly out there.


Edit: on a more cheerful note, look at the comments section of the Forbes article. At the moment, the Good Guys are way ahead. This is pretty cool given that Forbes' target readership is "the bankster class" (people heavily invested in the status quo) and that such people might be expected to wage a troll campaign in any Forbes article comments.

[kjlimo]

Never realized Liberty Reserve has such a shady start.  Perhaps this article is very biased.

Luckily, bitcoin can't be shutdown (which the article articulates); however, the exchanges are the weak points.

[mem]

The Treasury Department set a precedent in using the 2001 Patriot Act against a virtual currency to sever the link between Liberty Reserve and the U.S. financial system.

What can't the patriot act do ? Its like the swiss army knife of "fuck you" laws.

[bb999]

The Treasury Department set a precedent in using the 2001 Patriot Act against a virtual currency to sever the link between Liberty Reserve and the U.S. financial system.

What can't the patriot act do ? Its like the swiss army knife of "fuck you" laws.

It can't do anything unless you have a central server or individual to shut down/arrest.