Government banning bitcoin??

[massivebitman]

This really worries me.

What chance does bitcoin have of long term survival if the governments can shut it down any day of the week?

http://glaws.in/2013/04/currency-of-the-year-bitcoins-gain-popularity-for-online-gaming-transactions-will-the-indian-government-regulate-and-prohibit-bitcoin-transactions/

[massivebitman]

they can make it illegal though

[Geist]

they can make it illegal though

How would they enforce that exactly?

[massivebitman]

Well quite easy really... Just say it's illegal to trade in bitcoin. Shutdown Mt Gox, and all the other exchanges.

Clearly, they can't get rid of it entirely but they don't need to. Shutting down the exchanges would pretty much mean the end of bitcoin for the mainstream anyway.

[Geist]

Well quite easy really... Just say it's illegal to trade in bitcoin. Shutdown Mt Gox, and all the other exchanges.

Clearly, they can't get rid of it entirely but they don't need to. Shutting down the exchanges would pretty much mean the end of bitcoin for the mainstream anyway.

How will they shutdown all of the exchanges in the entire world? Not to mention, there are several exchanges that are currently in development due to the events of the past 2 weeks.

In fact, this is similar to bittorrent sites. Governments all over the world have been trying hard to shutdown sites like Pirate Bay, and we all know how that turned out(Read: Still live and thriving).

[BubbleBoy]

Money laundering is already illegal. So they need to expand it's definition to include "participate in an distributed internet money laundery activity". It doesn't matter if your bitcoins are legally acquired and used. Some people use Bitcoin for money laundering, that is obscuring the proceeds of crime and by participating in the bitcoin network you are a contributory. Just like every bit that you send online is legal but participating in a torrent swarm is illegal. There is no constitutional right to financial privacy and if the law does not already cover Bitcoin they will expand it to cover it.

This means that you can't run an exchange, you can't wire money to an exchange abroad, you can't meet in a dark alley to trade bits for cash and you can't connect to the Bitcoin p2p internet network. All punishable by 2 to 5 in the fuck-me-in-the-ass prison.

Can they ban Bitcoin ? No, just as they can't ban drugs. People can still grow weed at home. It's just that no sane people will do business in that particular field of activity. We're just under the radar right now, that's all. They will come down on it like a ton of bricks when Bitcoin becomes more than a nuisance.

[bitcoiners]

they can make it illegal though

It's illegal to download music and movies in most places yet I can still do it in just a few moments.

Shutting down exchanges?  They will just move to friendlier countries.

Cheers

[Kazu]

Money laundering is already illegal. So they need to expand it's definition to include "participate in an internet distributed money laundery activity". It doesn't matter if your bitcoins are legally acquired and used. Some people use Bitcoin for money laundering, that is obscuring the proceeds of crime and by participating in the bitcoin network you are a contributory. Just like every bit that you send online is legal but participating in a torrent swarm is illegal. There is no constitutional right to financial privacy and if the law does not already cover Bitcoin it will be expand it.

This means that you can't run an exchange, you can't wire money to an exchange abroad, you can't meet in a dark alley to trade bits for cash and you can't connect to the Bitcoin p2p internet network. All punishable by 2 to 5 in the fuck-me-in-the-ass prison.

Can they ban Bitcoin ? No, just as they can't ban drugs. People can still grow weed at home. It's just that no sane people will do business in that particular field of activity.

Owning, Spending, buying or selling bitcoins is NOT illegal. Exchanging them without knowing who you're exchanging to is, though.

[mckmuze]

This is a turning point in history and will be a wake up call. If one country decided to embrace Bitcoin and act as a backbone for the technology, it would be unstoppable and so would the country who chose to embrace it. It is a race for acceptance and a race for global dominance. Who will choose to let go of an old way of thinking? Only time will tell. Sure they could make it illegal in every country around the world. Though if one country decided to embrace it they could become the most wealthy country in the world in a very short period of time. This would also require the country to accept the idea of individual financial sovereignty and all the consequences involved. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Adapt or die, the cold hard truth of life on earth.

[Piper67]

Money laundering is already illegal. So they need to expand it's definition to include "participate in an distributed internet money laundery activity". It doesn't matter if your bitcoins are legally acquired and used. Some people use Bitcoin for money laundering, that is obscuring the proceeds of crime and by participating in the bitcoin network you are a contributory. Just like every bit that you send online is legal but participating in a torrent swarm is illegal. There is no constitutional right to financial privacy and if the law does not already cover Bitcoin they will expand it to cover it.

This means that you can't run an exchange, you can't wire money to an exchange abroad, you can't meet in a dark alley to trade bits for cash and you can't connect to the Bitcoin p2p internet network. All punishable by 2 to 5 in the fuck-me-in-the-ass prison.

Can they ban Bitcoin ? No, just as they can't ban drugs. People can still grow weed at home. It's just that no sane people will do business in that particular field of activity. We're just under the radar right now, that's all. They will come down on it like a ton of bricks when Bitcoin becomes more than a nuisance.

Yup, that's how they made drugs go away, don't you know?

[manfred]

Though if one country decided to embrace it they could become the most wealthy country in the world in a very short period of time.

No. If one country decided to embrace it would get sanctions imposed and be poor as shit in a very short period of time. (end up like Zimbabwe, north korea...)

[giantdragon]

At first, it is impossible to "ban" Bitcoin - the only thing government can do it to outlaw exchanges (I think they could do it right now even with existing AML laws, look at situation with Bitcoin-24 and Bitfloor) and make impossible to accept BTC for offline businesses. But they never will be able to close P2P exchanges, operating through TOR. Silkroad is an example.

Bitcoin may even go up in value because various organized criminals (narco mafia, gun traders etc) will threat Bitcoin as safe way to save funds from confiscation.

[BubbleBoy]

Silkroad works because of bitcoins. So you can do the cash or bank transfer legally, and receive the illegal goods. If Bitcoin in itself is deemed illegal, you need a legal "bitcoin2" to purchase bitcoins. Get it ? But of course they will ban all distributed online currencies in one swift blow.

They can do much more than close exchanges and local business. They can ban you to connect to the bitcoin network, just like they will SWAT your home if you share childporn on P2P. Tor, Truecrypt and paranoia for everybody, yay. They can put you in jail for meeting someone to trade bitcoins for cash, just like trading stolen creditcards numbers for cash is illegal. They can monitor your bank account and convict you of money-laundering if you send money to an entity abroad connected to the bitcoin trade; just like you can't wire money into PLO's account. They can tap you phone and convict you upon mentioning a bitcoin transfer.

In short, a prohibition like this would put an end to Bitcoin's use as a currency. Narco mafia doesn't need something that only the mafia uses, they want clean legal cash like everybody else, that's the whole point in money laundering. If all users of Bitcoins are criminals then you need another way to launder them. Bitcoin might survive prohibition as a mafia only currency, but that's hardly a reason to "invest" in it; especially given it's vulnerability to the "10$ wrench attack" when you try to sell it to these guys.

[myrkul]

Silkroad works is because of bitcoins. So you can do the cash or bank transfer legally, and receive the illegal goods. If Bitcoin in itself is deemed illegal, you need a legal "bitcoin2" to purchase bitcoins.

Sell cash on SR = get Bitcoins.
Sell Bitcoins on SR = get cash.

"Bitcoin2" not needed.

[giantdragon]

just like they will SWAT your home if you share childporn on P2P. Tor, Truecrypt and paranoia for everybody, yay. They can put you in jail for meeting someone to trade bitcoins for cash, just like trading stolen creditcards numbers for cash is illegal. They can monitor your bank account and convict you of money-laundering if you send money to an entity abroad connected to the bitcoin trade; just like you can't wire money into PLO's account. They can tap you phone and convict you upon mentioning a bitcoin transfer.

Child porn is considered unacceptable by 99.999999% of population, while Bitcoin, TOR, TrueCrypt and spirit of freedom at all is essential values for large part of population. If governments and corporations will pressure too hard, some people will resist physically, even risking with their lives! Very high probability that this prohibition could start civil war!

[Xiaoma]

just like they will SWAT your home if you share childporn on P2P. Tor, Truecrypt and paranoia for everybody, yay. They can put you in jail for meeting someone to trade bitcoins for cash, just like trading stolen creditcards numbers for cash is illegal. They can monitor your bank account and convict you of money-laundering if you send money to an entity abroad connected to the bitcoin trade; just like you can't wire money into PLO's account. They can tap you phone and convict you upon mentioning a bitcoin transfer.

Child porn is considered unacceptable by 99.999999% of population, while Bitcoin, TOR, TrueCrypt and spirit of freedom at all is essential values for large part of population. If governments and corporations will pressure too hard, some people will resist physically, even risking with their lives! Very high probability that this prohibition could start civil war!

not true. A minority of people would fight to defend Tor, and lots less for Bitcoins. 99.99999% of world population could not care less.

[mobodick]

This is a turning point in history and will be a wake up call. If one country decided to embrace Bitcoin and act as a backbone for the technology, it would be unstoppable and so would the country who chose to embrace it.

I don't think any country is willing to embrace a money it can not collect taxes on. It would be financial suicide.

[myrkul]

This is a turning point in history and will be a wake up call. If one country decided to embrace Bitcoin and act as a backbone for the technology, it would be unstoppable and so would the country who chose to embrace it.

I don't think any country is willing to embrace a money it can not collect taxes on. It would be financial suicide.

Well, so is inflation, but that's at least a slower form of suicide, and you get to enjoy the ride.

[BubbleBoy]

Very high probability that this prohibition could start civil war!

We're talking about the leeway government has in this problem and the whole "Bitcoin is indestructible" mantra. So if for the sake of argument the law is presumed passed , it's irrelevant if people at large see you as bad as a pedophile, the penalty is the same and that's what the SWAT team and the judge care about. As to how such a law against cryptocurrency could came to pass, let me just say your internet money is very low on the priority list of the vast majority of citizens. The law would be written by lobbyists, passed by a large majority, and wouldn't make it even on the evening's news. No civil war will ensue, I can assure you of that; I lost all hope in humanity after CISPA.

Sell Bitcoins on SR = get cash.

That's like saying Silkroad could work even without bitcoins, people could mail each other cash and the site would keep track of the accounts. That won't work because if I'm a drug dealer with a stash of 10 pounds, I will never ever type my address anywhere in order to receive a cash envelope. If the whole bitcoin seller's market is composed of criminals I can't blend among regular people and a sting operation when selling my bitcoins will lead straight to my stash.

[RenegadeMind]

Shutting down exchanges?  They will just move to friendlier countries.

GO SEALAND!