[2016-03-26] Is Bitcoin the New Swiss Bank Account (And Is That a Problem?)

[LiteCoinGuy]

Is Bitcoin the New Swiss Bank Account (And Is That a Problem?)

Bitcoin was embraced by many for its libertarian ideals of economic liberty and individual sovereignty. But it has now effectively been dragged into the current, and very public, privacy debate between Apple and the FBI.

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/is-bitcoin-the-new-swiss-bank-account-and-is-that-a-problem-cm597377

[aso118]

Is Bitcoin the New Swiss Bank Account (And Is That a Problem?)

Bitcoin was embraced by many for its libertarian ideals of economic liberty and individual sovereignty. But it has now effectively been dragged into the current, and very public, privacy debate between Apple and the FBI.

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/is-bitcoin-the-new-swiss-bank-account-and-is-that-a-problem-cm597377

Public opinion is definitely in favour of Apple in the encryption debate. Governments (including tax collectors) should just get used to the reality that strong encryption methods are available to everybody now. They should adapt, even though jobs like tax collection might be more difficult in the Bitcoin world.

[ArticMine]

...
Public opinion is definitely in favour of Apple in the encryption debate. Governments (including tax collectors) should just get used to the reality that strong encryption methods are available to everybody now. They should adapt, even though jobs like tax collection might be more difficult in the Bitcoin world.

This assumes that the Apple vs FBI dispute is actually about encryption which it is not. It is actually about protecting Apple's DRM and Apple's Orwellian business model. The FBI would be content with just  two things 1) The source code to IOS and 2) The ability to install software on an iPhone without having to get Apple's permission. This would make the encryption equivalent to say GNU Privacy Guard the software that Edward Snowden used for his leaks. Of course in order for the encryption to be secure one has to use a strong password. In the Apple vs FBI case, the FBI has reason to believe that the terrorist in question used a very weak password. This is like trying to crack a Bitcoin wallet "secured" with a 4 digit number. So the dispute is actually about DRM rather than encryption.

The Apple DRM that is currently inhibiting an anti terrorism investigation where the government has dotted all the legal i's and crossed all the legal t's is the very same DRM that Apple used used to censor Bitcoin from 2009 to 2014.

[Carlton Banks]

...
Public opinion is definitely in favour of Apple in the encryption debate. Governments (including tax collectors) should just get used to the reality that strong encryption methods are available to everybody now. They should adapt, even though jobs like tax collection might be more difficult in the Bitcoin world.

This assumes that the Apple vs FBI dispute is actually about encryption which it is not.

Which brings us onto the next assumption: that Bitcoin's strong property rights are conferred through it's use of encryption. They are not. Because there is no encryption in Bitcoin.