Could Mining be shut down.

[Yankee (BitInstant)]

[Rob E]

^ is that to me?

[Blazr]

FROM NOW ON ANY DIVERTIONAL CURRENCY CONTRARY TO THE STATE WILL BE MADE ILLEGAL AND BE PUNISHABLE BY DEATH OR LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR THE GOOD OF THE SURVIVAL OF THE NATION AND SURVIVAL OF ITS CITIZENS . EASY  .

Cool. First off, you've just spent a few million getting lawyers to write that & to make sure that it will hold up in court, and second, what about in the UK? That law won't apply there, so now you gotta go work with the UK government as well, and repeat for 208 countries. Would take years.

And then what happens when it goes to court and somebody makes a case that Bitcoins aren't currency, because Bitcoin doesn't fit the current legal definition of a currency (which is true). That will have to be changed to.

Its not just as easy as that.

Also, where will they get all the money to keep all those people in prison? It costs $10,000 a year to keep someone in jail. New budget has to be introduced as well.

[Rob E]

I'm surprized you would let someone else -anyone else call me a "crackehead" as it is contrary to any thing morpheous stood for or the ideoloygy  of the matrix stood for and to use this on me . . is disrespectfull to the Mpth degee.  You have no incling who you you are talking to or what you are using to try to discredit me . . you are scum .. In "Hero" status".

[Rob E]

FROM NOW ON ANY DIVERTIONAL CURRENCY CONTRARY TO THE STATE WILL BE MADE ILLEGAL AND BE PUNISHABLE BY DEATH OR LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR THE GOOD OF THE SURVIVAL OF THE NATION AND SURVIVAL OF ITS CITIZENS . EASY  .

Cool. First off, you've just spent a few million getting lawyers to write that & to make sure that it will hold up in court, and second, what about in the UK? That law won't apply there, so now you gotta go work with the UK government as well, and repeat for 208 countries. Would take years.

And then what happens when it goes to court and somebody makes a case that Bitcoins aren't currency, because Bitcoin doesn't fit the current legal definition of a currency (which is true). That will have to be changed to.

Its not just as easy as that.

Also, where will they get all the money to keep all those people in prison? It costs $10,000 a year to keep someone in jail. New budget has to be introduced as well.

No i'ts ok w have nothing in common. .

[foggyb]

Rob E.

The death penalty? Life in prison? For running a piece of software that does nothing but solve maths?

Think positively.

Drink green tea. Pretend you're on a calm beach.

[Rob E]

you have no idea  or the future or the politics of this planet . . Do you follow any political financial or wordly events>. If so can i ask which ones?

[BeetcoinScummer]

No, mining could be made illegal but it will never be shut down as long as doing it is worth something. Since when has making something illegal stopped people from doing it if people really wanted to?

[Fjordbit]

Mining can easily be done on the darknet. Some pools even have onion websites.

If any Bitcoin activities are made illegal, people will route around them.

[J-Norm]

Mining is done offline, and the block can be claimed by anonymous publishing to the network. It would seem that if it was illegal it would be very easy to hide.

They cannot shut down the silk road. Hell, they can't even keep drugs out of prisons. They could make such a law but it would just be another in a series of unenforcable laws.

[mentalove]

Bitcoin depends on miners right. . What if mining became " Illegal." What to do then.  solutions. .

Let them try xD

[DanielleEber]

Weed is indeed a currency. I paid a plumber in weed the other day in fact. And a case of beer.

People can and do trade anything for anything.  For example, loaning out tools to a neighbor in return for a future favor moving furniture is a valid trade.  What tends to rise to the level of money is the most easily traded and most accepted good or commodity.  So while your weed & beer exchange was definitely a trade in the economic sense for plumbing services, most people would not say it has risen to the level of money.

Bitcoin balances in the global account book (block chain) is a traded commodity also, but is still working on reaching widespread use as money.  Ease of trade and general acceptability are not there yet, though they have been improving quite rapidly.

[Endgame]

The likelihood of mining being shut down, or even targeted by governments is extremely low. There are far easier ways to try and take down, or damage bitcoin. Of course, none of them are 'easy' to pull off, but they are all easier than shutting down mining. Some examples: 51% attack, blockchain spamming, targeting the exchanges.

[Rob E]

Mining can easily be done on the darknet. Some pools even have onion websites.

If any Bitcoin activities are made illegal, people will route around them.

cheers .

[Rob E]

Mining is done offline, and the block can be claimed by anonymous publishing to the network. It would seem that if it was illegal it would be very easy to hide.

They cannot shut down the silk road. Hell, they can't even keep drugs out of prisons. They could make such a law but it would just be another in a series of unenforcable laws.

No  but they're dong a pretty god job right now legalizing "bitcoin" throught the " banking system" at the moment. it  means we are just becoming a controlled currency ..by bankers  When I thnk it should jus follow laws of nature . . you care for it it grows . . prosperity . . freedom . . for all. .

[Gatorhex]

If they blocked the mining pools, mining would just be done solo.

If Microsoft rolled out an update to remove bitcoin people would just use some variant of Linux

As for blocking moving bitcoins around, if they blocked the Bitcoin P2P (Peer to Peer) network protocol, the clients can still communicate over IRC (Internet Relay Chat).

It's not illegal to use an alternative currency (after all that's what PayPal is), but it doesn't have the protection of the law unless it's equated to legal tender somehow.