If you couldnt buy or sell BTC, what would you do with them?

[Stampbit]

You know if its ever made illegal.

[1715185759]

1715185759

[1715185759]

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[1715185759]

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[yocko06]

use cash

[cheesylard]

I'd move to Berlin.

[franky1]

if i couldnt buy bitcoin using fiat directly.

i would buy food or other daily essentials people need using my fiat and swap it for bitcoin localbitcoin style. maybe even set up a shop if i needed a regular supply of bitcoin

EG if i was to normally invest $£2000 a month into bitcoin. i would buy £$2000 worth of baked beans, meat, veg etc and sell them for bitcoin.

after all that is satoshi's initial dream.. it only came later that the fiat exchange centralisation of mtgox delayed the main purpose of bitcoin.

now people think of it as more of a gold stock instead of a tool for bartar.

[dwdoc]

Hold

[QuestionAuthority]

Sell them in person to dope heads that want to shop at SR.

[yocko06]

Australian dollar is dropping and is expected to drop to a low not seen in years, lucky i have bitcoin. i think as the work economys start to break people will start to disregard laws that are telling them to keep their money in something witch is becoming worth less and less. if nobody follows a law it becomes very hard to punish anyone for it.

[Tywill]

I thought the whole idea behind BTC was to thwart this type of situation?

[raze]

I'd probably make more attempts to barter locally, instead of just going ahead and buying them.

Or I'd just go for rides in the middle of the night to sell some coins for people that really want them.

[Lethn]

Trade with just Bitcoins, mind you, I'm planning on doing that already because I foresee them doing everything they can to ban or regulate it and it's not like they want to improve other currencies.

[bitcoinchecker]

If I had any spare Bitocins I would buy a nice T-shirt.

 

[Abdussamad]

I'd buy two casscius coins so that I could rub them together.

[raze]

I'd buy two casscius coins so that I could rub them together.

Are you trying to make them have baby coins? Because I think Bitcoin is still way too young to have children. It should at least be in its teens before it considers such things.

[Abdussamad]

I'd buy two casscius coins so that I could rub them together.

Are you trying to make them have baby coins? Because I think Bitcoin is still way too young to have children. It should at least be in its teens before it considers such things.

Ah the joke's lost on you. Next time google stuff if you don't know what it means:

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/have+two+pennies+to+rub+together

[shawshankinmate37927]

You know if its ever made illegal.

How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening?  That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs.

[Mike Christ]

You know if its ever made illegal.

How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening?  That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs.

There's no law in existence that has ever stopped anything   Bitcoin's gonna keep happening per usual, with law or without law; it's simply something outside of the government purview.

[Tywill]

You know if its ever made illegal.

How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening?  That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs.

There's no law in existence that has ever stopped anything   Bitcoin's gonna keep happening per usual, with law or without law; it's simply something outside of the government purview.

Exactly, look at prohibition

[Coinseeker]

You know if its ever made illegal.

How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening?  That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs.

Not even a smart comparison.  Drugs are addictive.  No one has a need for Bitcoins.  Add to that, as long as fiat is easier and more practical to use, it will always dominate because people are lazy and will use what is most convenient.  Bitcoins are anything but convenient and easy to use. 

[shawshankinmate37927]

You know if its ever made illegal.

How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening?  That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs.

There's no law in existence that has ever stopped anything   Bitcoin's gonna keep happening per usual, with law or without law; it's simply something outside of the government purview.

Exactly, look at prohibition

Prostitution and guns are also illegal in a lot of jurisdictions.  We still have them and always will.

[Mike Christ]

Not even a smart comparison.  Drugs are addictive.  No one has a need for Bitcoins.  Add to that, as long as fiat is easier and more practical to use, it will always dominate because people are lazy and will use what is most convenient.  Bitcoins are anything but convenient and easy to use. 

I dunno, paper money's pretty inconvenient.  The only thing I use it for anymore is vending machines and the local flea market.  Plus, many of my transactions are now made online, including all my bills, except for groceries, which would be the only time I really need to use the card.  Anything that can be bought online can easily be paid for with Bitcoin (and you don't have to enter all those numbers and your address etc., either, to use your card, as in the case of BTC, all you have to do is copy and paste an address, specify how much BTC, and send.)  Though businesses may yet to use Bitcoin, I believe this will change, and Bitcoin will become much more convenient, as many people nowadays know how to work computers, which will always be the trend in the future.

So that just leaves the gap between F2F transactions, which I'm not sure Bitcoin will ever be able to replace.  Not without an intermediary, or some kind of super-quick altcoin.  There are some creative solutions but none I've considered too much.

[shawshankinmate37927]

You know if its ever made illegal.

How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening?  That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs.

Not even a smart comparison.  Drugs are addictive.  No one has a need for Bitcoins.  Add to that, as long as fiat is easier and more practical to use, it will always dominate because people are lazy and will use what is most convenient.  Bitcoins are anything but convenient and easy to use.  

Yes, drugs are addictive, but if making them illegal made them go away, one wouldn't be able to use them in the first place to become addicted.

The world actually has an enormous need for something like Bitcoin.  Especially for those individuals that choose to live below their means and want to protect their savings from bankers and politicians.

[Coinseeker]

You know if its ever made illegal.

How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening?  That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs.

Not even a smart comparison.  Drugs are addictive.  No one has a need for Bitcoins.  Add to that, as long as fiat is easier and more practical to use, it will always dominate because people are lazy and will use what is most convenient.  Bitcoins are anything but convenient and easy to use.  

Yes, drugs are addictive, but if making them illegal made them go away, one wouldn't be able to use them in the first place to become addicted.

The world actually has an enormous need for something like Bitcoin.  Especially for those individuals that choose to live below their means and want to protect their savings from bankers and politicians.

"Enormous need"?  Maybe.  Certainly one opinion but to go back to your original point, it's better said, that making drugs illegal did not make the addiction go away.  One who's addicted, will do anything to get it.  The law is irrelevant and that's what we've seen.  There will never be such addiction to Bitcoin, thus making them illegal would pretty much end Bitcoin, with the exception of minor black market uses, because there are other forms of currency that people could readily use.  Why risk jail time when there are legal alternatives, that at present, are easier to use?  

To answer the OP question:  I'd sell them off as fast as I could, to the highest bidder.

[shawshankinmate37927]

You know if its ever made illegal.

How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening?  That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs.

Not even a smart comparison.  Drugs are addictive.  No one has a need for Bitcoins.  Add to that, as long as fiat is easier and more practical to use, it will always dominate because people are lazy and will use what is most convenient.  Bitcoins are anything but convenient and easy to use.  

Yes, drugs are addictive, but if making them illegal made them go away, one wouldn't be able to use them in the first place to become addicted.

The world actually has an enormous need for something like Bitcoin.  Especially for those individuals that choose to live below their means and want to protect their savings from bankers and politicians.

"Enormous need"?  Maybe.  Certainly one opinion but to go back to your original point, it's better said, that making drugs illegal did not make the addiction go away.  One who's addicted, will do anything to get it.  The law is irrelevant and that's what we've seen.  There will never be such addiction to Bitcoin, thus making them illegal would pretty much end Bitcoin, with the exception of minor black market uses, because there are other forms of currency that people could readily use.  Why risk jail time when there are legal alternatives, that at present, are easier to use?  

To answer the OP question:  I'd sell them off as fast as I could, to the highest bidder.

Yes, "enormous need".  That will become very apparent as fiat currencies continue to be debased.  See this thread for many of the other advantages that Bitcoin has over fiat:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=206328.0

Yes, it's also true that making drugs illegal doesn't make drug addiction go away.  But, suppose drug addicts were exempt from such laws and politicians decided to actually provide them with free drugs until they were able to kick their habit.  Drugs would still be bought by and sold to individuals willing to experiment, wanting to self-medicate, or for recreational use.  The point is making something illegal doesn't make it go away, no matter what it is--Bitcoin included.

If bitcoins were made illegal in the US, I would take advantage of the ensuing price dip and convert as much fiat as I could to sound, honest money and then try to escape to a jurisdiction that doesn't outlaw it.

[cosurgi]

I'd move to Berlin.

not Berlin, but that other city in Germany.

[QuestionAuthority]

I'd move to Berlin.

not Berlin, but that other city in Germany.

Frankfurt/rhein main? You know that there's more than just one major city in Deutschland, right?

[Coinseeker]

Yes, "enormous need".  That will become very apparent as fiat currencies continue to be debased.  See this thread for many of the other advantages that Bitcoin has over fiat:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=206328.0

Yes, it's also true that making drugs illegal doesn't make drug addiction go away.  But, suppose drug addicts were exempt from such laws and politicians decided to actually provide them with free drugs until they were able to kick their habit.  Drugs would still be bought by and sold to individuals willing to experiment, wanting to self-medicate, or for recreational use.  The point is making something illegal doesn't make it go away, no matter what it is--Bitcoin included.

If bitcoins were made illegal in the US, I would take advantage of the ensuing price dip and convert as much fiat as I could to sound, honest money and then try to escape to a jurisdiction that doesn't outlaw it.

Just to be clear, I wasen't trying to minimalize the benefits of Bitcoin or crypto in general.  Just merely trying to stay focused on the context of the conversation.  That said, I agree...Bitcoin will not go away just because it's illegal but I disagree that it's relevence would be similar to drugs, simply because of drugs dependent nature.  Weed excluded of course.  

My view is simply that making Bitcoins illegal, would stop mass adoption dead and thus that severely cripples Bitcoin for anything but illegal uses.  Look at the Bitcoin ATM's.  There could be hundreds if not thousands of them, if it wasn't for FinCEN regulations.  That simple example of making an ATM illegal, without proper compliance shows just how fast laws directly against Bitcoin, can shut things down.  

On a side note, I'd like to see the "war on drugs" ended and take the drugs off the streets, by moving them online much like Silk Road.  I don't support hard drug use but then again, I don't support alcoholism either.    But I do believe if you're old enough to die for your country, you're old enough to determine for yourself, what you put into your body.  The USG has tried and failed and it's time to accept defeat and try something new.  Preferably something that doesn't cost billions in tax dollars and imprison thousands of non-violent offenders.  /end rant

[wachtwoord]

Hold

Haha you understand things 

There are 3 things you can do: buy, sell and hold. Out of those three things, if you cannot buy or sell, which would you do? 

[LostDutchman]

You know if its ever made illegal.

Continue to mine and trade the results to people for stuff I could sell for cash.

My $.02.

[Stampbit]

Oh i really meant what would you do with them when they are made illegal and the value plunges to 0. I was thinking maybe trading it for everquest gold since they would be both extinct forms of money.

[raze]

Oh i really meant what would you do with them when they are made illegal and the value plunges to 0. I was thinking maybe trading it for everquest gold since they would be both extinct forms of money.

I don't think the value would ever go down to zero. Even if all the exchanges shut down and there were no more services using Bitcoins, they'd still be used as barter by a minority of people, especially in countries which hadn't outlawed them.

[bitcryptonit]

i think they cant simply outlaw bitcoin because that would mean also forcing sites like facebook to get rid of they coins and many more companies which is impossible imo. The only thing they can do is to make our life hard to buy or sell bitcoins for fiat which will be enough to slow down bitcoin adoption for years. But i dont think they can do it forever.