Can bitcoin be blocked too by the government or isp ??

[Bitcoinsummoner]

If government block access to any bitcoin related site or web wallet we can easily access them via TOR browser as well as if government tries to banned exchange of bitcoin than we can have face to face deals which are off the record of any banks or online payment gateways. Also there are several bitcoin tumbling and mixing services to hide identity to not get linked to any bitcoins you are holding.

I think their know about that is why they dont do that.. because its impossible and customers who are using network service or internet service they don't want to apply it in their internet because they want no blocklisted site while they are browsing..
VPN is one of the solution proxy and ips most of them are cgi proxy. .
That can unblock connection.. that why they hotspot shield that can remove those block listed..

[RodeoX]

Governments can block you from using bitcoin just like they block you from:
Gambling
Porn
Music piracy
Joining a terror group
Creating a fake facebook account
etc...
In other words, they can't.  

[ashiqdey]

if government do the task with ips then definitely there will be some hack coming up because now there are many virtual server that gives user virtual ips which allows user to access ip protected sites. but if Government setup a firewall then it might be possible to stop or put a complete ban on particular sites.

[iv4n]

What can they do? I bet some governments will try to do this, and we will see on example how much can some government do about this question. Examples I saw here like gambling, porn, different sites are very good, government can`t do much about anything on internet. They make few cases and couple convictions, but same sites appear in few hours from new location.
Bitcoin is unstoppable, it`s better for them to accept things as they are. It will be better for us and them, maybe bitcoin can unite us in many ways, and to be much more then currency.

[JasonXG]

Recently many file sharing sites and torrents had been banned in my country to stop piracy.

Is there a way that the government or the isp may block the connection to bitcoin network by its users ??

No. That would be against you human rights. That would be the government forcing you to use your banks. If torrents are blocked simply use a VPN service or DNS to bypass the evils of censorship. Bitcoin is not piracy and is not stealing anything from anyone. I wouldn't worry about this.

[n691309]

Recently many file sharing sites and torrents had been banned in my country to stop piracy.

Is there a way that the government or the isp may block the connection to bitcoin network by its users ??

Actually there is a way to block the connection but it would not be easy but they actually can. But I think bitcoin is not needed to be blocked by government, this move from them would be useless because bitcoin is not a bad thing.

[QuestionAuthority]

Governments can block you from using bitcoin just like they block you from:
Gambling - They can and have multiple times. Remember Fulltiltpoker.com, Absolutepoker.com, Ultimatebet.com and UB.com?
Porn - no one cares or tries.
Music piracy - They can and have multiple times. Remember Limewire, Demonoid, Kickass Torrents, Torrent-Finder, OnSmash.com, DaJaz1.com?
Joining a terror group - I can join the gay nazi's for hitler, that doesn't mean shit. Let's talk about drone strikes instead.
Creating a fake facebook account - Why would the government give a shit about that dude? They probably have more fake facebook accounts than anyone does.
etc...
In other words, they can't can and have.  

Sites I've visited recently:





If Bitcoin came under attack from the government kiss that mainstream to the moon bullshit goodby. There is no way a payment system can be even slightly useful if under government attack. Hiding in a dark room, running TOR, and biting your nails is not the way most people want to shop on Amazon. LOL

[prabowo96]

Recently many file sharing sites and torrents had been banned in my country to stop piracy.

Use a VPN.Everyone needs freedom to do whatever they want on the internet.Torrents will never die.FTP's will never stop.You just need to look at the right places.For instance,check out russian torrent sites.

Is there a way that the government or the isp may block the connection to bitcoin network by its users ??

Not unless they start taking actions against miners.How many IP's do you think they can individually start banning? They won't waste their time on this.

I think the fast way here, is baning the commerce, so don't matter how many bitcoins users the world have, none will have where to spend it... However I think they just don't care, bitcoin marketcap is low af compared to others fiat currencies.

[Carlsen]

A government can't block bitcoin directly.
But it can block sites where people have their wallets, such as blockchain.info.
And a government can prohibit businesses to accept bitcoin as a form of payment, maybe even declare the posession of bitcoin to be illegal.
Those measures would turn bitcoin to be useless for people and would be as effective as blocking bitcoin if this was possible.

[pereira4]

It would be a disaster if they try to go to those lengths to try to stop bitcoin, it would be admitting that bitcoin is a serious threat. I don't see it happening. Even if they act at an ISP level, people will use VPNs to bypass it, and maybe proxies will be set at a protocol level to somehow bypass the ISP block. Governments can't do anything but put fear on people's mind, it doesn't work as we have seen in russia.

[rottenfruits]

Technically I think they might be able to stop people from running nodes etc... but there isn't a way to stop you from using tor for example and using blockchain and therefore using BTC, generally banning bitcoins would be difficult in a country with decent law since this isn't like piracy...

[groll]

If other people will continue to use it on illegal activities there is a possibility that the government will ban it.  And maybe if the government will see that establishments and some store will not pay appropriate fees or taxes.  Government still have the last say on everything in this world.  They are the one who manipulate or let say they are the one who were in control. 

[Juggy777]

I don't feel Bitcoin will be banned. So far there no news or indication it could be. Blocking it would be far more problematic. Hence I don't think government will be in Any rush to banned them. So take a chill pill

[Yakamoto]

Recently many file sharing sites and torrents had been banned in my country to stop piracy.

Use a VPN.Everyone needs freedom to do whatever they want on the internet.Torrents will never die.FTP's will never stop.You just need to look at the right places.For instance,check out russian torrent sites.

Is there a way that the government or the isp may block the connection to bitcoin network by its users ??

Not unless they start taking actions against miners.How many IP's do you think they can individually start banning? They won't waste their time on this.

I think the fast way here, is baning the commerce, so don't matter how many bitcoins users the world have, none will have where to spend it... However I think they just don't care, bitcoin marketcap is low af compared to others fiat currencies.

Banning commerce is definitely one of the best and most effective ways to lock people from effectively using Bitcoin, however it will not stop peer-to-peer transactions that can take place on isolated and out-of-the-way places on the internet.

The only way they could stop that, iirc, is by going and blocking each node.

[DaddyMonsi]

In my country the Central Bank did not say that its illegal to use but use with caution, however it can be blocked using their influence since thers only a handful of internet providers in my country. Theres even an internet provider who was able to block porn sites from being viewed. If they can do that to porn sites, they can do it well to sites related to Bitcoin.

[franky1]

guys you need to stop with the "if governments do or dont do" rhetoric

we need to strengthen bitcoin to not care.

another point is by not scaling bitcoin we have already prohibited atleast half a dozen countries from using bitcoin ourselves.
a 0.06cent tx fee is an hours labour / 4 loaves of bread for just the fee.. in many countries

no on is going to pay that. would you want to buy 4 loaves of bread knowing its going to cost you another 4 loaves just to buy it. basically meaning you cannot get 8 loaves even if before making a transaction you had funds equivalent to 8 loaves.

the higher the fee gets the less countries see bitcoin as an advantage. paying under the average slows down when your transaction may or may not get confirmed. thus its not just a cost thing, but a slow system for those third world countries too.

we need to concentrate on strengthening bitcoin to not worry about governments. and also get more people desiring bitcoin by not putting up barriers of entry. but just barriers to destruction

[markisanon2434]

I am not sure whether governments can ban bitcoin. They can impose fine and penalties on people who use it. They can also tax bitcoin with a higher rate to discourage its use. For now bitcoin is not facing any serious threats and I think we need to spread the message and get more people aware of bitcoin and it's advantages. This will help in the adoption and growth of bitcoin.

[BitHodler]

I am not sure whether governments can ban bitcoin. They can impose fine and penalties on people who use it. They can also tax bitcoin with a higher rate to discourage its use. For now bitcoin is not facing any serious threats and I think we need to spread the message and get more people aware of bitcoin and it's advantages. This will help in the adoption and growth of bitcoin.

Certain countries already have a fine or other kind of penalty for people that are using Bitcoin even though the country in question has put up some sort of a ban in action.

Making people pay a higher tax is something that doesn't work as people right now can use Bitcoin to trade with, hodl it for a long time, etc, and all that without declaring their coins and profits. They will just continue to do that.

The only effective option they have, which has also been mentioned by some people in this thread, is to make ISPs ban the IPs from nodes all over the world.

[abel1337]

I am not sure whether governments can ban bitcoin. They can impose fine and penalties on people who use it. They can also tax bitcoin with a higher rate to discourage its use. For now bitcoin is not facing any serious threats and I think we need to spread the message and get more people aware of bitcoin and it's advantages. This will help in the adoption and growth of bitcoin.

Certain countries already have a fine or other kind of penalty for people that are using Bitcoin even though the country in question has put up some sort of a ban in action.

Making people pay a higher tax is something that doesn't work as people right now can use Bitcoin to trade with, hodl it for a long time, etc, and all that without declaring their coins and profits. They will just continue to do that.

The only effective option they have, which has also been mentioned by some people in this thread, is to make ISPs ban the IPs from nodes all over the world.

I think  Iceland , Bolivia , Ecuador , Kyrgyzstan
and Vietnam  is  the countries that bitcoin is banned . Why are they banning bitcoin it can help their country by giving bitcoin users their a great tax to help their country grow not by just banning it. If they are worrying about the falling growth of their banks they I think they can merge it to make both profitable.

[franky1]

I think  Iceland , Bolivia , Ecuador , Kyrgyzstan
and Vietnam  is  the countries that bitcoin is banned . Why are they banning bitcoin it can help their country by giving bitcoin users their a great tax to help their country grow not by just banning it. If they are worrying about the falling growth of their banks they I think they can merge it to make both profitable.

they are not banned.
they are just prohibiting BANKS from offering bitcoin services. to protect their economy by ensuring banks only handle fiat.
this has nothing to do with citizens.