How long till BitCoins become outlawed?

[realbitcoins]

They could ban all legal business in the US (or other countries that decide to crack down on bitcoins) from accepting them. Without non-blackmarket or completely private real world uses in that country, bitcoins would loose a lot of their potential and appeal.

[1714779370]

1714779370

[1714779370]

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[jh1523]

Many things were said to be "impossible in the US" - until one day they happened.

[indio007]

Many things were said to be "impossible in the US" - until one day they happened.

Those things happen to "citizens" and "residents".
I don't live in the land of make believe.
There is no state and there are no citizens.

A body politic can neither make nor take homage
ex fide non ficta

[jh1523]

I don't live in a world of make-believe either.

I do however live in the real world.

[EarlyAdopter]

I hope it is never outlawed. It is nice being left alone by any Bitcoin specific laws.

[Tronlet]

I hear the govt is going to ban Bitcoins right after they shut down ThePirateBay.

Heh, exactly.

[hellboy2325]

I doubt that would happen - although they can make life difficult for us, what was that site that accepted paypal that got shutdown recently?

[NinjaAsok]

Outlawed or not... how would they stop it from being used...

[NetTecture]

Oneproblem with outlawying bitcoin i that yxou have to be VERY carefull not to have serious side effects, like banning iany in game virtual currency. Linden Dollars? WOW Gold? WIll all those also be forbidden?

It is a VERY thin line that has to be done here not to get constitutional invalid or kill all non official currencies in games.... which would be a stupid move.

[bahatassafus]

I hear the govt is going to ban Bitcoins right after they shut down ThePirateBay.

Heh, exactly.

Not exactly - unlike ThePirateBay, Bitcoin needs exchanges and businesses with real bank accounts and real bookkeeping to be able to accept it.

[kommykiller]

What they cannot control, they try desperately to destroy.

[k3ks3]

The "Problem" governments see in bitcoins is the unability to control it(and therefore tax it). The Annonimity it provides gives "shady" characters a whole new spectrum and possibilities and therefore i kind of can understand where they are comming from. BUT and that is a big BUT i see this realistic. The only thing the dont like about bitcoins is they cant get ahold of it / make money of it / are actually kinda loosing money. (Hughe deals done with btc = no tax) therefore screw the government. And i dont think that they can outlaw it because as already mentioned how can you ban online currencies like linden dollars/wow gold etc. ? and this is code they try to ban -> shouldnt be possible. Even though i do see risks in BTC i love and i think/hope that we will always be able to use it.
PS: dont dream: its not going to be a legal currency for loooooooooooooooooong, not until they can figure out how to tax it
greetz
cookie

[dancupid]

What does outlawing mean? Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. You can murder someone and if you are not convicted then you are innocent.
How much effort do you think the FBI will put into a crime where someone used bitcoin to buy socks? How much effort do they put in if you downloaded the last episode of Doctor Who on bit torrent? The law is only interested in crimes that are serious or easy to prove. No one will care about legitimate bitcoin transactions because the cost of pursuing them would be greater than any possible political or social benefit.

edit: The music industry have pursued up-loaders of copyrighted material, but who will pursue bitcoin users? Someone needs to call the police before the police will act. Who will call them? No actual crime is being committed - it's safer than bit-torrent, because you are not doing anything obviously wrong..

[Bert]

What does outlawing mean? Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. You can murder someone and if you are not convicted then you are innocent.
... snip ...

Sorry but in most countries it is guilty until proven innocent. The first thing that most cops say to you when they arrest you for maybe/possibly having committed a crime is "Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a court of law", not "Anything you say or do can and will be used to help defend your innocence in a court of law"

EDIT: Sorry for going off topic, but these little things annoy me.

[Tronlet]

We're talking the USA though here, which has the policy of innocent until proven guilty. Many other countries don't, but we're discussing Bitcoins in the US.

[Bert]

I just quoted the US Miranda rights, for most states.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"

And any cop/lawyer worth their salt will tell you to never speak. Because anything you say will not and can not be used to defend your innocence. That is not quite innocent until proven guilty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL_2lT8DojM

[Tronlet]

...Okay, and? That doesn't have anything to do with the US's innocent until proven guilty policy. If you say something incriminating, of course it will be used against you, as they are informing you when you are read your rights. Until proven guilty, regardless of how you may prove yourself guilty, you are considered innocent under US law.

[dancupid]

What does outlawing mean? Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. You can murder someone and if you are not convicted then you are innocent.
... snip ...

Sorry but in most countries it is guilty until proven innocent. The first thing that most cops say to you when they arrest you for maybe/possibly having committed a crime is "Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a court of law", not "Anything you say or do can and will be used to help defend your innocence in a court of law"

EDIT: Sorry for going off topic, but these little things annoy me.

The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of the Council of Europe says (art. 6.2): "Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presumption_of_innocence.
If at the time of arrest I say 'It's a fair cop, I dun it guvnor', then obviously that's going to influence the outcome of the trial. Though they still have to prove it.

Proving someone guilty requires a due legal process (ie suspicion of crime, investigation, arrest, trial, conviction, appeal, rejection of appeal).
Since this process involves many man hours of work, the authorities will only put in the effort if they feel their effort is going to be rewarded. Bitcoin will only be of interest to the authorities when it is used within the context of a real crime.

[Tilaron]

We're talking the USA though here, which has the policy of innocent until proven guilty.

Really? That must have passed me by somehow.

I'll keep an eye out for it though!

[jimbo77]

We're talking the USA though here, which has the policy of innocent until proven guilty.

Really? That must have passed me by somehow.

I'll keep an eye out for it though!

I thought it was innocent until a threat to those in power.