Takeover the market by buying it...

[Stikaz]

Not sure if it's the right section for my question...

The shit load of money that Bitcoin system generates without any taxes and regulations should make fiat-related organisations and governments a little nervous. Let's say they decide to kill the market...

Right now, it's roughly 87$/BTC. That makes the Bitcoin market value up to (87$ x 21M) 1.8 Billion $. In comparison, the cost of tax evasion or war on drugs in the US is a way more than that a year. Do you think these organisations would be able to buy all BTC on markets and make them lost forever? Or even change the rules by owning most of the global market? What would be the options for the market to prevent this?

[Piper67]

Not sure if it's the right section for my question...

The shit load of money that Bitcoin system generates without any taxes and regulations should make fiat-related organisations and governments a little nervous. Let's say they decide to kill the market...

Right now, it's roughly 87$/BTC. That makes the Bitcoin market value up to (87$ x 21M) 1.8 Billion $. In comparison, the cost of tax evasion or war on drugs in the US is a way more than that a year. Do you think these organisations would be able to buy all BTC on markets and make them lost forever? Or even change the rules by owning most of the global market? What would be the options for the market to prevent this?

This question has been done to death, but since I have a minute or two: The market value of Bitcoin $1.8 billion by your calculations, is just a static figure. In the real world, if someone (government, God, Jesus come back to Earth, the International Communist Alliance) wanted to buy enough of the BTC supply to control the market, think about what would happen... the price would rise exponentially, much more so than it has so far, and I can tell you for a fact I would only sell MY bitcoins for about $1 mil each! The so called "market cap" would grow very large, very quickly. It would make the war on drugs seem like a tiny budget line by comparison.

[BitPirate]

I don't understand this.

A trade takes two -- a buyer and a seller. The govt can't forcibly buy my bitcoins, and I'm not ready to sell all of them.

If they just come in and buy most or all of what people are willing to sell, that would be great -- the price would just be driven up.

[QueenElizabeth]

Not sure if it's the right section for my question...

The shit load of money that Bitcoin system generates without any taxes and regulations should make fiat-related organisations and governments a little nervous. Let's say they decide to kill the market...

Right now, it's roughly 87$/BTC. That makes the Bitcoin market value up to (87$ x 21M) 1.8 Billion $. In comparison, the cost of tax evasion or war on drugs in the US is a way more than that a year. Do you think these organisations would be able to buy all BTC on markets and make them lost forever? Or even change the rules by owning most of the global market? What would be the options for the market to prevent this?

Look at all the trouble EU governments are going through because of relatively tiny bailout-related disbursement. The whole Cyprus débacle was over some 7 billion euros. The US doesn't have the same problems, but the debate on the debt ceiling etc. shows that there is no extra money around. So who's going to buy every single Bitcoin in circulation? Yes, there are players that have the money to spare, i.e. China or even Australia. However, I don't see the big government interest in doing that.

[Stikaz]

This question has been done to death

I've searched on the forum first but nothing came up. My bad

[OnlyGoodVibes]

Just because the current price of bitcoin may be $85, it doesn't mean you could buy every bitcoin for that amount, if you look at an order book, you will see there are hundreds and thousands of Bitcoins on there for hundreds of dollars above the current asking price, so you would be paying more per Bitcoin as you bought more Bitcoins.

[Bitobsessed]

I can only hope they start buying them and destroying them.  Makes all the rest worth that much more!

[Stikaz]

I can only hope they start buying them and destroying them.  Makes all the rest worth that much more!

So it would be more like going to the cashier at the casino, cash out and never see the chips back on the table. Then after a while how do players bet again?

[Stikaz]

Just kidding... I got your point guys. Bitcoins can be divided in a smaller pieces and be traded as long as it's possible to get fraction of btc, right?

[Piper67]

I can only hope they start buying them and destroying them.  Makes all the rest worth that much more!

So it would be more like going to the cashier at the casino, cash out and never see the chips back on the table. Then after a while how do players bet again?

They use fractions of the remaining chips, all the way to one ten billionth of each... oh, can't do that with casino chips, sorry. That's why casino chips aren't bitcoins 

[Bitobsessed]

I can only hope they start buying them and destroying them.  Makes all the rest worth that much more!

So it would be more like going to the cashier at the casino, cash out and never see the chips back on the table. Then after a while how do players bet again?

They use fractions of the remaining chips, all the way to one ten billionth of each... oh, can't do that with casino chips, sorry. That's why casino chips aren't bitcoins 

There is no cashing out.  Use BTC for what is was designed for.  Direct p2p transactions.   

[Picklee]

That makes the Bitcoin market value up to (87$ x 21M) 1.8 Billion $.

This doesn't make sense. Assuming your price of $87, the market capitalization of BTC is not $2 billion dollars. Maybe in the 22nd century  , but right now we only have 11 million BTC, so market cap is $800-900 million.

Besides, how would any government justify buying something just to burn it? especially when other programs actually 'do' something like war on drugs, war of terrorism, war on vaginas, etc.

[byronbb]

This would drive the price to incredible heights and while they would be able to acquire a lot of coins, a seller would probably never give up all their coins. Currently there are 21x8 satoshis and it can be increased by modifying the protocol. I do wonder if a large group could aquire a large % and manipulate the price however, especially once shorting is easily performed.

[Rygon]

This would drive the price to incredible heights and while they would be able to acquire a lot of coins, a seller would probably never give up all their coins. Currently there are 21x8 satoshis and it can be increased by modifying the protocol. I do wonder if a large group could aquire a large % and manipulate the price however, especially once shorting is easily performed.

Yeah, someone could take a couple million to pump and dump, but with extra emphasis on the dump. The market is still very small; that's been a known risk for a while.

[Gabi]

Do you think these organisations would be able to buy all BTC on markets and make them lost forever?

I hope yes, i'll sell them 1 btc for 1 trillion of dollars. Oh look, i have another btc to sell, this time i want a tons of gold. Wait, i have a third btc to sell 

[shkiser]

Enough on the decimals, thats not what OP asked.. I think this demands a good view by anyone interested in btc. Why couldnt the person controlling the major supply of coins, manipulate the price at market?