Wall Observer BTC/USD - Bitcoin price movement tracking & discussion

[JayJuanGee]

[edited out]

Whereas this forum is NOT the court.  And I am not an attorney-at-law representing the BitMEX (HDR) corporation and/or its executives.

Thus, I will take a stand and say, first of all, explain just why the fuck the United States is pretending to have jurisdiction here.  What is the American CFTC, a god?

Of course, I am NOT even proclaiming such a possible strategy to be unreasonable or impracticable.

Clients and attorneys discuss these kinds of strategic matters on a regular basis, and probably some teams of attorneys are more resourceful and creative than other teams.

Personally, I believe Bitfinex has done pretty well through the years, and surely we cannot always know whether some of the positive outcomes were products of skills or luck.

Why am I so vehement about this?  Besides general principle, that is.

Nothing wrong with arguing from principles.

On the other hand, it is possible that you and I (or one of us) might find out that Bitmex's behavior was more egregious than we had earlier considered, and we might adjust our opinions or maybe the strength of our opinion(s) might change with the learning of new facts and logic.

I do NOT like scammy exchanges.  Indeed, earlier this year on this forum, I got booted out of DT2 because I was gunning too hard for Yobit.  (A DT1 who was previously on good terms with me suddenly ~attacked me in another thread within 2 hours of starting to defend Yobit from me; the timestamps make the motive quite transparent.)  Now, that is a scammy exchange—but I digress...

BitMEX has always had a sterling reputation.  Now, due to this American action, I suddenly see people convicting them in the “court of public opinion”—it seems just because “American CFTC said so”.  

Of course, in some sense, you are preaching to the choir, nullius.

We have already seen quite a few nonsense arguments wanting to presume Bitmex to be criminally guilty, and I doubt that those proclaimers are more aware of the facts and/or arguments of the case than you and me.

If BitMEX were doing something really wrong, and if the evidence were brought out, then I would be the first to condemn the wrongdoing.  (Whether or not the Americans have the right to prosecute it would be another matter—they are NOT the world-police.)  But that is not what I have been seeing, these past few days.

Again.. I don't disagree with any of that.

Meanwhile, just yesterday, I popped into the BSV thread for the first time (Loyce.club archive, just in case).  And today, what do I there behold?

Third post by a “Newbie” account, obvious shill:
Re: [ANN] [BSV] BitcoinSV - Satoshi's Vision for Bitcoin

https://coingeek.com/coingeek-live-2020-regulating-the-digital-assets-industry-is-key-to-future-growth/

CoinGeek Live 2020: Regulating the digital assets industry is key to future growth
 
The days when digital assets were considered a lawless wild west which was beyond the reach of regulators is way behind us. On Day 1 of the CoinGeek Live conference, some of the leading minds in the legal industry discussed the regulation of the digital asset industry, letting us in on how to build a compliant Bitcoin business in the U.S., Japan and the European Union.

While regulators started off on the back foot in policing the digital assets industry, most of them are now catching up, Joshua Ashley Klayman told the virtual audience. Klayman is a senior counsel at Linklaters LLP, a London-based law firm with over 3,000 lawyers across the world. Based in New York, Klayman works with digital asset companies that are seeking to get into the U.S. market.

“It’s been said many times that there’s a lack of regulatory clarity. I think at this point, that’s just an excuse. I think if you engage with the regulators, you can find a path forward,” she remarked.

[...]

The subject is interesting, without trust no regulation... without regulation... no state therefore no existence. All open and in conformity with the laws. This is not the case for many other coins.

Compare:

Bitcoin is a 'common good'.
Bitmex was damaging it by 100x margin, as easy as this.
btc going down 1% wipes out the 100X long position.
can a 1btc account spoof? No. can a 10K-100K btc account do the same on mex? Absolutely.
We have speed limit signs on most highways, right? Same idea.
Bitmex is no autobahn.

I would not shear a single tear if mex is gone or curtailed (after allowing outgoing btc transfers, of course).

Resistance to the “ZOMG we need to regulate it!!! kowtow to the regulators” attitude is a major Bitcoin issue—and resistance to American world-police megalomania is a major issue to anybody who does not want to be a slave.

I cannot say that I disagree with any of that, either.

Battles for the mindspace can take a lot of time, and people are not necessarily going to agree, and surely I hope that Bitmex and their various agents are making great efforts in regards to the counsel that they seek.

[Paashaas]

John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax charges in the U.S.

[LFC_Bitcoin]

John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax charges in the U.S.

Maybe he’ll get to eat dick after all (just not his own).

[nullius]

Battles for the mindspace can take a lot of time,

Indeed.  That is why it is important to discuss these issues publicly.

What happens if nobody steps up and says it?

* nullius is nobody.

Of course, in some sense, you are preaching to the choir, nullius.

With you, perhaps, and with a good number of WO regulars.  I think that you and I are in basic agreement about many of these issues, although I think that perhaps here, I needed to clarify a few points on which you may have slightly mistaken my own position.

But then, there is that “mindspace” thing that you mentioned.

Why yes, let’s create a highly regulated derivatives market (replete with regulatory capture by the biggest and worst criminals), in which highly profitable (and oftentimes massive-clusterfuck-crash grade risky) financial products can be offered by those who (have teams of lawyers to pretend to) obey the (loophole-ridden exact letter of the) regulations.  Let’s create a regulated “digital assets industry” (in which the sharks with big money and big lawyers can just eat everybody else alive).  While we’re at it—let’s recreate the fractional reserve central banking system!  You know, as long as this MAX_MONEY thing is in place, Bitcoin will always be subject to more or less price volatility.  A beneficent central bank is like the governor on the economic engine—or like speed limits...

So, why do we have Bitcoin?

[nullius]

John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax charges in the U.S.

Maybe he’ll get to eat dick after all (just not his own).

Presuming homosexual bodily violation of the prisoner to be a part of the sentence—is that an American thing?  I think it’s written into the laws there, or something.  Of course, it also happens in other places; but I don’t know anywhere else that people so casually joke about it as if it were normal, except, I suppose, very Americanized places.

Cf. the acceptability of railroading a targeted individual with trumped-up tax charges.  I am NOT commenting either way on what’s happening with McAfee, whom I have just kind of ignored for years.  (Except to say that even a mentally retarded gasbag and shitcoin freak does NOT deserve to be targeted with one of the American “justice system’s” favourite weapons—whom did he piss off?)  I am simply remarking on an American phenomenon that started with Al Capone—a bloody gangster, whom the bribe-taking American police were too corrupt to arrest for his many actual crimes (ordering murders, etc.).  Whence it became socially and politically acceptable for the government to target people with tax evasion charges driven by ulterior motives—oftentimes, to target political dissidents who are exercising too much freedom of speech.  And targeted tax charges are only a common manifestation of a deeper problem:  “We’ve got to get him for something!” is a real Americanism.  “#MAGA”

[criptix]

John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax charges in the U.S.

Rip john

https://www.coindesk.com/sec-alleges-john-mcafee-pumped-tokens-for-profit

[Indymoney]

John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax charges in the U.S.

Rip john

https://www.coindesk.com/sec-alleges-john-mcafee-pumped-tokens-for-profit

Better side of his arrest now he can better pump altcoins from prison surely he could be genius like trump in near future.

[lightfoot]

John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax charges in the U.S.

Rip john

https://www.coindesk.com/sec-alleges-john-mcafee-pumped-tokens-for-profit

God, he's looking even worse. Last saw him about 5-6 year ago and he looked bad then. Poor guy, aging well is a valuable thing in life.

[nutildah]

John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax charges in the U.S.

Rip john

https://www.coindesk.com/sec-alleges-john-mcafee-pumped-tokens-for-profit

About time really -- though I did not see the whole tax evasion angle being the reason for his final downfall. Guy is one of the biggest charlatans of the crypto space. Everything he ever touched turned to shit. Why people kept giving him cred long after this trend was established is beyond me.

[marcus_of_augustus]

John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax charges in the U.S.

... hookers and blow and tax evasion, bitcoin rockstar 


https://www.zerohedge.com/political/john-mcafee-arrested-spain-and-charged-tax-evasion-and-promoting-initial-coin-offerings

[marcus_of_augustus]

.....
A pump would cheer me up right now.

LFC needs pumps

7-2!! ... fuck me that's awful, who are these overpaid millionaire muppets?

[Toxic2040]

#dyor

#stronghands

[strawbs]

Surprised to see a link to this showing up on the front page feed of Reuters:

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-coinbase-outages/coinbase-resumes-trading-after-fixing-platform-issue-idUKKBN26Q35G?il=0

(Reuters) - Coinbase Inc has resumed trading on Coinbase Pro after resolving an issue with the trading platform, the cryptocurrency exchange said on Monday.

“We’ve implemented a fix and are monitoring the results,” the company said in a tweet.

The exchange had disabled trading on Coinbase Pro earlier in the day, saying it was investigating an issue with the platform. (bit.ly/3jFAyxC)

Times must be a-changing when MSM considers the temporary outage of a bitcoin exchange to be newsworthy. Imagine how they'd react now to a Gox 2.0 event.

Bullish 

[Hueristic]

is bitcorn ded yet?

asking for a friend...

You missed it man, it died last year. Or was it 2017? Or was it 2013? Oh heck, I can't recall. Pretty sure it was in China though. Ask a no-coiner, they're more likely to remember.

https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin-obituaries/

[JayJuanGee]

Much improvement in btc chart since bitmex "happenings"...those f--kers were causing this endless barting-debarting, I strongly suspect.
Is there a potential causation or at least correlation? We shall see in 1 mo.

I expect a fairly significant move up in Q4 of 2020 but it’s just a bit boring & frustrating now waiting. I’m quite confident we’ll end the year over $13,000 which would set us up fantastically for the expected fireworks at some point in 2021. We’ve got to be expecting upwards of $50,000 per coin before 2022.

It is kind of sounding to me, that your BTC investment thesis has not really changed very much on account of the potential issues related to Bitmex.

Do you consider barting and debarting to affect your plans in any kind of personal way in the coming one to two years?

Actually, I though that you were expecting a bit more UPpity in 2021  - but you are allowing for the possibility that some of the UPpity might get drug into 2022?  Are you considering that some of your investment performance may have gotten delayed by circumstances surrounding Bitmex?

My bags are full & heavy, I’ve been waiting many years for what’s coming.......  

I probably should not comment on this point, beyond pointing out that I am not commenting on it.  

Just to show how much room we have for growth -

@ecoinometrics
For context a $2 trillion market cap for #Bitcoin  would put one BTC at $100,000.

That's also the same market cap as Apple.

To reach the market cap of gold, one BTC would be worth about $500,000.

There is plenty of upside to come.

It appears to me, LFC, that you are not really allowing this Bitmex news to interfere with your theories, in any kind of meaningful way.  

Seems totally reasonable to me.  

[JayJuanGee]

Battles for the mindspace can take a lot of time,

Indeed.  That is why it is important to discuss these issues publicly.

What happens if nobody steps up and says it?

* nullius is nobody.

Of course, in some sense, you are preaching to the choir, nullius.

With you, perhaps, and with a good number of WO regulars.  I think that you and I are in basic agreement about many of these issues, although I think that perhaps here, I needed to clarify a few points on which you may have slightly mistaken my own position.

But then, there is that “mindspace” thing that you mentioned.

Why yes, let’s create a highly regulated derivatives market (replete with regulatory capture by the biggest and worst criminals), in which highly profitable (and oftentimes massive-clusterfuck-crash grade risky) financial products can be offered by those who (have teams of lawyers to pretend to) obey the (loophole-ridden exact letter of the) regulations.  Let’s create a regulated “digital assets industry” (in which the sharks with big money and big lawyers can just eat everybody else alive).  While we’re at it—let’s recreate the fractional reserve central banking system!  You know, as long as this MAX_MONEY thing is in place, Bitcoin will always be subject to more or less price volatility.  A beneficent central bank is like the governor on the economic engine—or like speed limits...

So, why do we have Bitcoin?

How are you going to stop those kinds of BIGGER players from coming into the space?

I don't see how we can necessarily have our cake and eat it too... One of the network effects in bitcoin is the increased financialization of the asset, and sure there might be attempts to denigrate bitcoin or to use bitcoin in the same kinds of ways that they have fucked up other asset classes, but you and I both recognize a distinguishing feature of bitcoin that changes the dynamics, and that is to be able to immediately claim possession of it.  If we enter into relationships with third parties in which we are NOT capable of either requesting or obtaining immediate possession of our coins, then we have chosen to disempower our lil selfies, and there are a large number of current BTC HODLers who recognize such power.. whether they are a minority or a majority, probably does not take away the power of that use case.. and many of us recognize other powers of bitcoin too.. and perhaps the value that others are able to use bitcoin in ways that we might NOT be using bitcoin, but still bring both power and value to bitcoin.

I am just saying that there is no way to keep some of the potentially bad actors out, nor abilities to cause them from attempting to be successful in their various manipulation attempts... but the mere fact that they have a lot of resources to manipulate does not necessarily mean that they understand bitcoin well enough to know that the odds might NOT be so much in their favor to be able to manipulate bitcoin in certain ways or beyond certain points.. but they might NOT realize such aspects of bitcoin until they make such attempts..

Remember fall 2017.. very interesting lessons for some BIG players trying to teach bitcoin some lessons but ending up getting schooled their lil selfies.  I remember.  There are other bitcoiners who remember, too, including some of the active members in this thread and including other parts of bitcoinlandia too, and may not be participating in this thread.

[nutildah]

I want to say Ghost was McAfee's last foray into shitcoin shillery but he has one other thing going on that I see people advertising in their sigs occasionally.

I sold all my Ghost and that gave me a huge lost of ETH. There is a German saying "besser ein Ende mit Schrecken, als ein Schrecken ohne Ende"; that means: "better an end with horror, than an endless horror".  

....

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ghost/markets/

Before I bought Ghost I understood on a logical level why so many people hate McAfee, but now - after loosing a lot of ETH and a lot of Lifetime - I feel that hate towards McAfee and my own greed. It's time to listen to Eckharte Tolle to come back to the present, get ride of this negative emotion of my past, and finding inner peace again.

(originally the guy said he lost 35 ETH but he edited his comment today -- wonder if that's a sign he made "inner peace" -- lol)

[nullius]

John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax charges in the U.S.

... hookers and blow and tax evasion, bitcoin rockstar  


https://www.zerohedge.com/political/john-mcafee-arrested-spain-and-charged-tax-evasion-and-promoting-initial-coin-offerings

Damn...  Something about that photo makes me feel that I need a bath...  First LFC, then this thing in juxtaposition... oh, the ugly mental images... Thanks; now, I need to squirt bleach into my eyes to stop the pain.

I think that I will start calling McAfee the Shitcoin Bill Clinton.  He reminds me of Clinton, for some strange reason.  But if possible, even more pathetic emetic.

Wrong and wronger don’t make right.  Ugly mess from start to finish...  Just lock that degenerate up alone in a room with a few kilos of the finest cocaine, and nothing else to do.  It will be a self-solving problem.

Why yes, let’s create a highly regulated derivatives market (replete with regulatory capture by the biggest and worst criminals), in which highly profitable (and oftentimes massive-clusterfuck-crash grade risky) financial products can be offered by those who (have teams of lawyers to pretend to) obey the (loophole-ridden exact letter of the) regulations.  Let’s create a regulated “digital assets industry” (in which the sharks with big money and big lawyers can just eat everybody else alive).  While we’re at it—let’s recreate the fractional reserve central banking system!  You know, as long as this MAX_MONEY thing is in place, Bitcoin will always be subject to more or less price volatility.  A beneficent central bank is like the governor on the economic engine—or like speed limits...

So, why do we have Bitcoin?

How are you going to stop those kinds of BIGGER players from coming into the space?

I don't see how we can necessarily have our cake and eat it too... One of the network effects in bitcoin is the increased financialization of the asset, and sure there might be attempts to denigrate bitcoin or to use bitcoin in the same kinds of ways that they have fucked up other asset classes, but you and I both recognize a distinguishing feature of bitcoin that changes the dynamics, and that is to be able to immediately claim possession of it. [...]

I am saying that they can’t have their Bitcake and eat it, too.

I don’t fancy that I could stop “those kinds of BIGGER players”, a.k.a. massive financial manipulators, from creating risky derivative clusterfucks.  I have said that a few times, in various places here.  My point is about regulation—especially, but not only, extra-jursidictional regulation by the Americans!

In the long term, the financial instruments and practices that I criticize can survive only in a regulated environment—viz., in the type of systemically corrupt-by-design regulatory environment at which Americans most excel (although with the advanced Progress™ of the current year, no country is very much better in that regard).  There, they are protected from natural consequences.  Quotable nullius:  In the soil of regulatory corruption, the seeds of folly grow “too big to fail”.  You know the end of that road!  “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks”  Right back where we started.

Bitcoin can get along much better without Nanny American-CFTC pretending to protect it, and actually doing the long-term opposite.  Let people do things that I dislike with Bitcoin; no matter how I may wish that I were Imperator, dictator perpetuo with the power to stop them, it seems that I’m not, and I can’t.  And they are not protected from failing.  Ultimately, when the moral hazards created by regulations go away, people must learn to stop doing the hazardous things—or else, the people creating the hazards just go bankrupt.  As I have said before, in Bitcoin, the risk is not systemic.

—Unless, that is, Bitcoiners get the attitude that we need to recreate the exact same financial system that we are trying to escape.  But now, with Blockchain™!  “The Times 03/Jan/2029 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for Blockchain banks”

Damn, on which point did I recently find myself quoting Karl Marx!?

Not that I would expect for [most people] to know enough political theory to be self-aware on this point—or to possess self-awareness on any point.


“Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice.  He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” — Karl Marx


A stage prop.

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Extra boldface has been added to this post, because I’m afraid the size=smaller parts of my above-quoted post were too shy to get attention.
N.b., I am NOT a follower of Rand, or Rothbard, or Mises, any of those schools of thought that are so popular in this space.  I don’t idealize Capitalism—to the contrary; as a modern dogma, it is the flipside of Communism.  (Title of Marxist Bible: Capital.)  I am not a votive at the altar of the Invisible Hand of the Free Market.  I do not fancy that market economics could create Utopia (or, for that matter, that Utopia would not actually be Dystopia).

I simply realize that at this point in history, the very best that we can do is to NOT take “cures” that are worse than the disease.  Hailing the intervention of the American CFTC in the Bitcoin markets outside American jurisdiction is like infecting yourself with HIV because you are worried about Covid.  You still have the original worry—and now, you have a much worse problem!

I said earlier in this thread about BitMEX, in reply to ivomm’s speculation about CME (so to speak), with boldface in the original:

If it is not something that can be done safely in an unregulated market, then maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in an unregulated market.  Don’t try to create the clusterfork of the bank-run financial markets in Bitcoin.

Thus concluded a post which began, with large boldface in the original:

Who appointed the United States and its institutions to supervise Bitcoin?

[philipma1957]

John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax charges in the U.S.

... hookers and blow and tax evasion, bitcoin rockstar  


https://www.zerohedge.com/political/john-mcafee-arrested-spain-and-charged-tax-evasion-and-promoting-initial-coin-offerings

Damn...  Something about that photo makes me feel that I need a bath...  First LFC, then this thing in juxtaposition... oh, the ugly mental images... Thanks; now, I need to squirt bleach into my eyes to stop the pain.

I think that I will start calling McAfee the Shitcoin Bill Clinton.  He reminds me of Clinton, for some strange reason.  But if possible, even more pathetic emetic.

Wrong and wronger don’t make right.  Ugly mess from start to finish...  Just lock that degenerate up alone in a room with a few kilos of the finest cocaine, and nothing else to do.  It will be a self-solving problem.

Why yes, let’s create a highly regulated derivatives market (replete with regulatory capture by the biggest and worst criminals), in which highly profitable (and oftentimes massive-clusterfuck-crash grade risky) financial products can be offered by those who (have teams of lawyers to pretend to) obey the (loophole-ridden exact letter of the) regulations.  Let’s create a regulated “digital assets industry” (in which the sharks with big money and big lawyers can just eat everybody else alive).  While we’re at it—let’s recreate the fractional reserve central banking system!  You know, as long as this MAX_MONEY thing is in place, Bitcoin will always be subject to more or less price volatility.  A beneficent central bank is like the governor on the economic engine—or like speed limits...

So, why do we have Bitcoin?

How are you going to stop those kinds of BIGGER players from coming into the space?

I don't see how we can necessarily have our cake and eat it too... One of the network effects in bitcoin is the increased financialization of the asset, and sure there might be attempts to denigrate bitcoin or to use bitcoin in the same kinds of ways that they have fucked up other asset classes, but you and I both recognize a distinguishing feature of bitcoin that changes the dynamics, and that is to be able to immediately claim possession of it. [...]

I am saying that they can’t have their Bitcake and eat it, too.

I don’t fancy that I could stop “those kinds of BIGGER players”, a.k.a. massive financial manipulators, from creating risky derivative clusterfucks.  I have said that a few times, in various places here.  My point is about regulation—especially, but not only, extra-jursidictional regulation by the Americans!

In the long term, the financial instruments and practices that I criticize can survive only in a regulated environment—viz., in the type of systemically corrupt-by-design regulatory environment at which Americans most excel (although with the advanced Progress™ of the current year, no country is very much better in that regard).  There, they are protected from natural consequences.  Quotable nullius:  In the soil of regulatory corruption, the seeds of folly grow “too big to fail”.  You know the end of that road!  “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks”  Right back where we started.

Bitcoin can get along much better without Nanny American-CFTC pretending to protect it, and actually doing the long-term opposite.  Let people do things that I dislike with Bitcoin; no matter how I may wish that I were Imperator, dictator perpetuo with the power to stop them, it seems that I’m not, and I can’t.  And they are not protected from failing.  Ultimately, when the moral hazards created by regulations go away, people must learn to stop doing the hazardous things—or else, the people creating the hazards just go bankrupt.  As I have said before, in Bitcoin, the risk is not systemic.

—Unless, that is, Bitcoiners get the attitude that we need to recreate the exact same financial system that we are trying to escape.  But now, with Blockchain™!  “The Times 03/Jan/2029 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for Blockchain banks”

Damn, on which point did I recently find myself quoting Karl Marx!?

Not that I would expect for [most people] to know enough political theory to be self-aware on this point—or to possess self-awareness on any point.


“Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice.  He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” — Karl Marx


A stage prop.

Blockchain needs Blockchain regulation for Blockchain banks to Blockchain innovate Blockchain in the Blockchain digital assets market Fintech Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain B̵͚̪̼̦͝l̶̝͈̀o̴̯̮̓̇̽̽c̵̝̪̘̜̊̄̎k̴̹͔̝̺͋̾̋̀̾͠͝ͅc̷̛̣͐̐͗͆̎̅h̶̢̭̥̻̘̔́̒͐̈͂̐͜â̴̧̼͈̼̦̅͝i̸͇͈͚̚͘n̸̜̤͙͌̊͛ ̴͕̗͍̜͈̤͓͑͝B̷͎͍̤̥̥̲́̅l̷̛̙̐̉̃͋̕͝ǒ̷̼̹͇̱̳̒c̶̥̯̋̃ḳ̷̑ĉ̵̱͑͛͝h̵̳̦͚̣̓̂̚ͅa̵̹̿͗̀͜͝i̶̢͎͎̺͎̩̪̋̏̔̚͠͠n̶̟̟̯͓͇̘̖͒͊̅̓̄͝ ̶̨̲̪̟̘̫̀B̵̞̲̮͚͈̾͂̈́̊̆͜͠l̸̙̠͈̗̖̫̥̊̔͑́͘̕͝o̷̢̜͍̟̬̍͘͠č̸̘͠k̶͎̜͎̔͛̈́̾̚c̸͈͆h̷͚̞͍̞͛̾̉̈̓̆ͅa̴̫̬̱͖̩͓͒̒̈́̅̈́̅̕ͅì̷̢̪̻̄̒͊n̴̨̛̹̭̙̜̋́̌́͂ͅ ̴̗̪̰̤͙͇́̆͒͒B̵̳̘̄l̸͕͓̣̈̑͗̊͘͘ơ̷̧̻̠̞̫̈́͗c̸͍̠̮̪̟̪̽̓̃̒̾̕k̸̠̯̤͈͎͚̮͘͘č̴̗̼͍̒̈̃͠ḧ̸̨̗̩̠̫̀͑̐̚a̶̯̺̤͍̰̽ȋ̵̡͓̤͈͍̞̘̇̕n̴̨̢̢̟̪̫̾͒̈̒͝ ̸̩̟̥̆ͅB̶̨̨̰̯̮̪̣̏͊̊l̶̢̡̛̻̱̄͛͝͝ǫ̶̺̦͌̈́̕c̸̪̈́̅͒̋̕͘͜ͅk̸̛̺͐c̷̢̛̻̽͊̍́̋͝ͅh̵̢̻̣̰̪͕̜̄͑â̸̯̠i̶͖̣̺͗̈́̈́̓͒͝n̴̖̘͂ ̶̠̠̭̞̕B̸̹̘̑l̷͙̘̻̺̥̤̋̈́̀ơ̷̳̮̅̾̽̅̑c̷̡̦̘̖͛͐͆̃̚͜ͅk̷̃̃̑͋̕͘͜ç̸̣̽͐͐h̴͈̻̳͂̓̔͋́̋ậ̵̞̪̼̈́̏͋́̚͠i̵͔͖͉̾͌͆͆̈́̑ͅn̷̛̠͓͔̦̪͌́ͅ ̷̨̖̺̫̺̄B̴͓̣̬̮͚͓̓̽l̵̼̟̻̰̥̫͛̏̓̕ǫ̴̡͕̝̤̩̌ͅc̵̫̭̝̉̃͌̕͝k̴͈̥̹͚̞̥̉͂̑ċ̷̪̮̘̈́͠h̷͇͋̐͗͜a̵̛̲͗̊͌ï̷̡̯̟͔͠ň̶̺̥͍͕͎ͅ ̶̡̡̝́̋̌͒́ͅB̵̨̭̣̮̯͑͜l̵̬̣̻͔͖̈́̀̂͗͝͝ơ̵̢̘̯̰̎͐̑̃c̸͉̼͚͎͔͓͌̃̕ͅk̶̎̀̍̃̊̌͜c̷̖̋̋h̶̗͚̮̱̞̹̑̎̌͝a̷̧͇͚͓͆̅̚ȉ̶̳̽͒̓̈́̿ǹ̴̫̼̰ ̵̲̮͈̜̪̜̇̉̃͛͝B̷̧̖̰̽̎̋̎̔̈́͠l̸̖̬̩̏͌͛̈̀̄o̴̰͙̅͒͌͆̄̓͜͝ċ̷͓̊̄͌̉͠k̷̢̪̰̙̝̀̏c̵̲̳͔̹̽̍͒̑͜ḣ̴̪͎̱͍̭̋̀͒̅a̵̝̭̻̰̟̋͌͝i̴̯̜̦̻̓̀̓̍͌̀͝n̷̡͚̦̖͊̈̏ ̶̧͕̜͛̀̀̓B̷̧̭̠̦̮̋̓͝l̶͔̻̂͐̃̒͝ȍ̶͖̼͉̣͛̃̈̽c̵̫͈̹̫͚͔̊̆͋͐͜ķ̴̧̰͋̿̑c̴̨̛͕̠̯̱̣̭͂̑h̶͙͈̙́ͅa̴̞̱̟̩̞͈̝͋͝i̵̧̪̰͆̀̃ņ̵͍̞̝̀͐̚ ̴̖͒́B̴̬̐̆͐l̶̢̧̲̤̰͖͐̂͐̽ǫ̵̧̰̥̗̰̃c̷̬̫̹̫̈́̓͋́̋k̵̪̮̉c̶̹͂́͐̉̅̅͝ͅẖ̵͕̖͙̖̪̆̓̉͒̅̓̌ǎ̴̛̫̼̩͙̓͒̈̑͝i̸̜̝͍̻͐̓̿̈́͜͠ṋ̴̨̫̭̟̔̕͜ ̷̤̘̘̙̝̽͛͑͆̂̚͜B̸̢̪̳̰̐͋́̅͐̚͘l̶̼͔͈̜͌̏ỏ̴̞͜c̴̭͙̞̜͊͂̈̈́͑̕k̵͔͕̞̳̂̈́͒͗̎c̵̡̟̥̝̏h̴̖̩̫͑͠ä̶̢̡̛͙̲̦́̐̽̑͘͝į̷̩̯̩̹̈́͊́͘n̸̳̠̅̑

Extra boldface has been added to this post, because I’m afraid the size=smaller parts of my above-quoted post were too shy to get attention.
N.b., I am NOT a follower of Rand, or Rothbard, or Mises, any of those schools of thought that are so popular in this space.  I don’t idealize Capitalism—to the contrary; as a modern dogma, it is the flipside of Communism.  (Title of Marxist Bible: Capital.)  I am not a votive at the altar of the Invisible Hand of the Free Market.  I do not fancy that market economics could create Utopia (or, for that matter, that Utopia would not actually be Dystopia).

I simply realize that at this point in history, the very best that we can do is to NOT take “cures” that are worse than the disease.  Hailing the intervention of the American CFTC in the Bitcoin markets outside American jurisdiction is like infecting yourself with HIV because you are worried about Covid.  You still have the original worry—and now, you have a much worse problem!

I said earlier in this thread about BitMEX, in reply to ivomm’s speculation about CME (so to speak), with boldface in the original:

If it is not something that can be done safely in an unregulated market, then maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in an unregulated market.  Don’t try to create the clusterfork of the bank-run financial markets in Bitcoin.

Thus concluded a post which began, with large boldface in the original:

Who appointed the United States and its institutions to supervise Bitcoin?

Bigger and bolder type  he is your answer:

Trump

[nullius]

If it is not something that can be done safely in an unregulated market, then maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in an unregulated market.  Don’t try to create the clusterfork of the bank-run financial markets in Bitcoin.

Thus concluded a post which began, with large boldface in the original:

Who appointed the United States and its institutions to supervise Bitcoin?

Bigger and bolder type  he is your answer:

Trump

If that is all that you got out of what I wrote, well...



You fancy that Bank-Owned Megalomaniac Biden (Diet Pepsi, (D)) be better than Bank-Owned Megalomaniac Trump (Coca-Cola, (R))?  (Or to others:  Vice versa?)  Protip:  They are both Americans.  They would both happily firebomb the whole world to smouldering rubble at the drop of a hat—or regulate Bitcoin into another bankster playground—or do whatever else the owners of the United States may desire.

Oh, this needs for me to pause from spending too much forum time in WO, and finish that thing that I have been intending to toss into P&S.  Meanwhile:

Universal suffrage is vote inflation.  Making everybody “free” by giving everybody a vote is like making everybody “rich” by printing lots of money.

Yes, that is an original observation on my part.  Analogy credit: nullius.

[...]