scenarios if US Govt tried to take down bitcoin?

[porcupine87]

US have no intention to take it down.

They cannot take it down. Can you take down Internet ?

Ouh, a little more phantasy, please. The goverment would not be intereseted to shut or take Bitcoin down. They are intereseted that people stop using it! That is a big difference.

Or they could just buy all Bitcoin.  Again, a few billion is peanuts to a government.

I won't sell my very last bitcoin for anything less than a billion and assuming enough others are willing to do the same as myself then no government will ever be able to buy all the bitcoins.

Think about that for a second.  All new Bitcoin would be produced and hoarded by the government.  The government is buying all Bitcoin so everyone does as you will do and hoards forever.  Users will move to an altcoin for gambling or drugs or remittances and Bitcoin will be a footnote in history.

Isn't that it - game over - Bitcoin dead?

Goverment can not buy or hoard it. This will drive up the price which would be at this early stage a good commercial for bitcoin. But later the gov could dump them all which would tear down the price. This would be bad. In my opinion the goverment would(will) try first to put the name bitcoin in mud. Make it illegal to trade. Yeah, you can't forbide Bitcoin, but Bitcoin would be small for all time.

If I was the goverment I would buy or produce 51% of the mining power and try to take a few double spending which gets public. Or they hack important bitcoin providers like coinbase. Don't make it illegal! Then I would have the people against me. Put in a flaw so the people will hate it.

Another strategy would be that the gov bribe people that they say they put money into a cold storage and now the money is gone. Who would take Bitcoin still serious?

[1715087451]

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[1715087451]

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[mmitech]

it is stupid to think that governments will buy Bitcoins but just for the fun of it lets imagine that they will do, so you pay Taxes to your goverments then they proceed and buy your Bitcoins with your taxes and tax you again for the money that money that you've got from selling Bitcoin and all over again.... what a funny loop right ?

[corebob]

so the technical aspect of the scenario is possible, but the question that popup is why ? if I have that kind of power I would just mine and make money, because such operation will cost millions of dollars, who wants to invest (lose) millions of dollars to do such thing ?

the million dollar question is what the government and big organizations think of Bitcoin ? in which position Bitcoin stands ? is bitcoin a threat for them ? will they ever regulate bitcoin ?

it is a serious matter that should be discussed but when you have the answers to these questions it will be easier to imagine the 51% attack.

Thanks for the answers, to diverge again as to why:  If bitcoin continues unchecked it will likely displace fiat currency to a large degree.  Fiat currency is the main power source for the entire banking industry and to a lesser degree the US Govt.  The US / European Establishment are very unlikely to stand by as a large portion of their power structure is dismantled and handed over to diffuse individuals.  You can see already with the Mt Gox account seizure, bank account closures, etc. what the govt/banks think of bitcoin - they want to destroy it.  They have already done the same with EGold, Liberty Dollar, and many others.  However, bitcoin is so widely held, popular, apparently difficult to attack, and clearly a moral good that a traceable attack, at this point, is going to be a last resort.  I'd expect to first see a continued propaganda effort and further attacks on the fiat-bitcoin interface.  This will drive bitcoin further underground and give impetus to the propaganda that it is the currency of illegal activities.  Eventually this can attempt to build public support for destroying bitcoin.  So, back to the most important questions...

In addition to this, the US gov. and banksters has to take into account that this currency will continue to flourish in China, Russia, South America etc.
Trying to destroy it with external measures, like fear mongering and laws, may not be on their block at all. At this point they would probably have to ruin it technically.

[sushi]

If they really wants to take it down, it would have been done already.

My guess is they are going to regulate it now.

US Federal Judge already stated Bitcoin is a form of currency.   

Bitcoin exist in China, England and other EU countries, started to spread in the USA, Japan with each government approval one form or the other already.  Each government may have different version of regulations but so far, none of those big countries are try to shut it down.

Some example of supression but now more they are educated what it is, it will open up the door for everyone to be accepted.

Just remember when Paypal came out, everyone was saying that was bad, geek's money, you must be doing something bad if you have to use Paypal to pay someone.  Now, Paypal is another form of payment.

[lnternet]

They surely can take down bitcoin but that will be much like taking down Fulltilt/Pokerstars or Silkroad, public attention rises and new ones sprout.

[toomsie]

A government will spend a few billion dollars on paperclips or prison overtime or endless wasteful projects.  The easiest way for any government to take down Bitcoin is to invest a few billion in mining kit and hoard all they produce.  They would force up the difficulty while having the ability to flood the market so other miners would be pushed out.

Or they could just buy all Bitcoin.  Again, a few billion is peanuts to a government.

yes it seems that I've been a bit ignorant, you remind me about the stupidity of some politicians, I forgot about the billions spent for endless and meaningless war, I guess you are right.

Well I agree with your conclusion.  The government would have made us all rich and we would be repeating the process with an altcoin so the government would be making us all rich again.  So Bitcoin is safe - no government will bother doing that. 

But if they did want to destroy Bitcoin it seems they can do so just by investing in mining kit.

You guys have realised that manopolies are impossible, inless violece is used. The government is good at that though.

[xan_The_Dragon]

What would be there motivation?

[bassclef]

Remember that the us government (or any large government for that matter) is made up of individuals acting in their own interests, often within huge beauracracies, which then operate in their own best interests and often compete with each other for power, money, etc. 99% of these people have probably never heard of Bitcoin and don't care about much beyond a nice paycheck and getting home to watch Homeland. Even Federal Reserve employees are like this, yes I know a few.

I say this because I keep reading about "they". "They" will outlaw Bitcoin. Who is they? There is no smoke filled room with old men deciding the fate of Bitcoin. The system is huge, complex, and has grown ever dependent on itself. It is a house of cards, a lumbering dinosaur, and not nearly as nefarious as some of you think.

One thing for sure is that without the dollar they are powerless: a silent coup. That is the beauty of Bitcoin.

[lorax2013]

Remember that the us government (or any large government for that matter) is made up of individuals acting in their own interests, often within huge beauracracies, which then operate in their own best interests and often compete with each other for power, money, etc. 99% of these people have probably never heard of Bitcoin and don't care about much beyond a nice paycheck and getting home to watch Homeland. Even Federal Reserve employees are like this, yes I know a few.

I say this because I keep reading about "they". "They" will outlaw Bitcoin. Who is they? There is no smoke filled room with old men deciding the fate of Bitcoin. The system is huge, complex, and has grown ever dependent on itself. It is a house of cards, a lumbering dinosaur, and not nearly as nefarious as some of you think.

One thing for sure is that without the dollar they are powerless: a silent coup. That is the beauty of Bitcoin.

The discussion keeps drifting from my original technical question, but OK I should have posted on the tech board - and for most people understanding if an attack would come is more important.  Yes, the govt is a collective consciousness - I didn't want to get into this since it is part of the side issue of if or when "they" attack.  The reason bitcoin wasn't taken down immediately, imo, is precisely because a collective consciousness is slow to act and bitcoin was hard to attack.  Eventually the collective consciousness of the Establishment will recognize the threat and act more forcefully.  Yes that may be years in the future but this is a different debate vs the originally technical question of how an attack would occur, could blame be shifted, and if there would be warning.

[subcoin]

If US government decides to "attack" Bitcoin, it'll go like this:
1. They will send cease and decease letters to all large pools (even the ones outside of US)
2. For those who do not comply, they will turn off domains
3. They will send cease and decease letters to all exchanges (even the ones outside of US)
4. For those who do not comply, they will turn off domains.
Boom! In one week 90% of Bitcoin infrastructure is gone.
Price of BTC plummets close to nothing.
People are afraid of using it because it's "illegal".
Cost to the government less than $100k.

How many of you received cease and decease letter from a government organization?
It's a pretty traumatic experience... will be enough to scare most people shitless.

   

[Mike Christ]

If US government decides to "attack" Bitcoin, it'll go like this:
1. They will send cease and decease letters to all large pools (even the ones outside of US)
2. For those who do not comply, they will turn off domains
3. They will send cease and decease letters to all exchanges (even the ones outside of US)
4. For those who do not comply, they will turn off domains.
Boom! In one week 90% of Bitcoin infrastructure is gone.
Price of BTC plummets close to nothing.
People are afraid of using it because it's "illegal".
Cost to the government less than $100k.

How many of you received cease and decease letter from a government organization?
It's a pretty traumatic experience... will be enough to scare most people shitless.

   

https://thepiratebay.sx/

Your scenario in effect.

[deadweasel]

If US government decides to "attack" Bitcoin, it'll go like this:
1. They will send cease and decease letters to all large pools (even the ones outside of US)
2. For those who do not comply, they will turn off domains
3. They will send cease and decease letters to all exchanges (even the ones outside of US)
4. For those who do not comply, they will turn off domains.
Boom! In one week 90% of Bitcoin infrastructure is gone.
Price of BTC plummets close to nothing.
People are afraid of using it because it's "illegal".
Cost to the government less than $100k.

How many of you received cease and decease letter from a government organization?
It's a pretty traumatic experience... will be enough to scare most people shitless.

   

https://thepiratebay.sx/

Your scenario in effect.

Yes.  Torrenting is a close analogy.  How it would play out when risk takers nest eggs are in play, I don't know.

[subcoin]

https://thepiratebay.sx/

Ok, some "rouge" Bitcoin trading will remain.
But who cares when public confidence is destroyed
and no legitimate business can operate?

[tvbcof]

If US government decides to "attack" Bitcoin, it'll go like this:
1. They will send cease and decease letters to all large pools (even the ones outside of US)
2. For those who do not comply, they will turn off domains
3. They will send cease and decease letters to all exchanges (even the ones outside of US)
4. For those who do not comply, they will turn off domains.
Boom! In one week 90% of Bitcoin infrastructure is gone.
Price of BTC plummets close to nothing.
People are afraid of using it because it's "illegal".
Cost to the government less than $100k.

How many of you received cease and decease letter from a government organization?
It's a pretty traumatic experience... will be enough to scare most people shitless.
   

Your scenario seems plausible.  But quickly people would realize that the value store in the blockchain is safe (if potentially locked) and many smart people would be working overtime to circumvent the attack.  I'm sure the value of BTC and confidence in the system would plummet, but not to anywhere near zero, and the effects would be transient.

In order for the scenario to be more robust and durable, and regime of monitoring and attack would need to be implemented, or emplaced as part of a broader initiative of global network management.  I don't rule this out because there are lots of things which could drive such an effort.  Distributed crypto-currencies are probably a minor (but potentially growing) aspect of the threat mosaic.

[bassclef]

Remember that the us government (or any large government for that matter) is made up of individuals acting in their own interests, often within huge beauracracies, which then operate in their own best interests and often compete with each other for power, money, etc. 99% of these people have probably never heard of Bitcoin and don't care about much beyond a nice paycheck and getting home to watch Homeland. Even Federal Reserve employees are like this, yes I know a few.

I say this because I keep reading about "they". "They" will outlaw Bitcoin. Who is they? There is no smoke filled room with old men deciding the fate of Bitcoin. The system is huge, complex, and has grown ever dependent on itself. It is a house of cards, a lumbering dinosaur, and not nearly as nefarious as some of you think.

One thing for sure is that without the dollar they are powerless: a silent coup. That is the beauty of Bitcoin.

The discussion keeps drifting from my original technical question, but OK I should have posted on the tech board - and for most people understanding if an attack would come is more important.  Yes, the govt is a collective consciousness - I didn't want to get into this since it is part of the side issue of if or when "they" attack.  The reason bitcoin wasn't taken down immediately, imo, is precisely because a collective consciousness is slow to act and bitcoin was hard to attack.  Eventually the collective consciousness of the Establishment will recognize the threat and act more forcefully.  Yes that may be years in the future but this is a different debate vs the originally technical question of how an attack would occur, could blame be shifted, and if there would be warning.

I guess the point I was trying to make is that if enough individuals within the government stand to profit from Bitcoin and it's in their interest to jump the fiat ship, any attack will likely never happen.

All you mathemagician coders tend to look at things too black and white

[Mike Christ]

https://thepiratebay.sx/

Ok, some "rouge" Bitcoin trading will remain.
But who cares when public confidence is destroyed
and no legitimate business can operate?

Yes, I believe it'll take a hit, but I don't believe Bitcoin will be taken down; public confidence in torrenting, however, has never been higher, and economies have had to adapt to it (consider music-streaming services & online radio such as Pandora and last.fm and video-streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu to give people a reason not to bother with torrents.)  It doesn't matter if it's illegal if the public prefers it; people consistently break laws they didn't make if they don't agree with them, as they should; only thing governments can do is get in the way, and if governments get in the way of the world, I'd side with the world.

[RodeoX]

US have no intention to take it down.

They cannot take it down. Can you take down Internet ?

An attempt would cost billions of dollars and have a very slim chance of doing any damage. What ever happens, there is not going to be a "takedown". I think it is impossible.

[LiteCoinGuy]

of course they can forbid all trading and holding of btc.

i guess the price would go down 50-70% and then recover over time. if other countrys are okay with that technologie, they will have an advantage.

but i dont think, that they forbid that.

[subcoin]

Yes, I believe it'll take a hit, but I don't believe Bitcoin will be taken down;

Yes, I agree with that too. Also, that no matter what happens Bitcoin will be operational.
However, in peoples' mind torrent'ing music is not the same as torrent'ing money.
From an early age we are taught that doing anything illegal with money is really bad.
Unlike sneaking into a movie or copying your friends music.
Psychologically these actions are NOT on the same level of "illegal".
 
If government convinces public that Bitcoin is illegal, that would be the end of "mainstream" Bitcoin.

[inform]

What would be there motivation?

paper dolar usa or masons or iluminati or secrets societys also propoganda i think this fashion also people how hipnoze procedure zombies


P.S biozombies


i Russian
but intelectual intuition i understand 


this some true

who create system
who create paper dolar analog federal rezerve
who create usa

who make war iraq,afganistan,difirents revolutions and etc,kosovo,ukraine,iran,egypt,now is procedure syria

make a lot globas proublums sionizm

who is god

goild
oil
drugs

i think this bankzters make global monopoly

make bomb city how people slep [this how democraty come]

NEW WORLD ORDER

read 1 coment

[ fuck the government! we all gotta stick together asian blacks white mexicans we all gotta stick together & fight the government! stop fighting for evil & fight 4 good 4 whats rite! stop the racism 1 love!]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_J1viY2cE0


if you not know what is this
you in big hipnoze!

This who and how control world our planet


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Who know true say you how realy this come in this 2013