can governments prevent a cryptocurrency wallet from syncing with the network

[chat]

This is an open question to anybody who can answer it.

My question is can a government stop a wallet from syncing with the blockchain if they decide to ban the currency completely and not allow anybody to use the wallet?
Will the wallet still function as normal and download the blockchain and will the user be able to send coins from the wallet to any other wallet in the world?

If they can do this then is there any way that this can be bypassed?

Please explain in detail if you could

[shorena]

This is an open question to anybody who can answer it.

My question is can a government stop a wallet from syncing with the blockchain if they decide to ban the currency completely and not allow anybody to use the wallet?

Depends. If the connection to the internet was shutdown youd have to rely on SMS and radiowaves. Both methods have been tested but not easily accessable AFAIK. If a connection to the internet is still possible you could mask the traffic via tor.

Will the wallet still fuction as normal and download the blockchain and will the user be able to send coins from the wallet to any other wallet in the world?

If you can get a connection via tor it would function as usually. SMS/DVBT connections would work differently as you would have one channel to get updates for the blockhain (DVBT) and another to broadcast TX (SMS)

[marcotheminer]

Only by restricting your Internet access.

[BitcoinFX]

This is an open question to anybody who can answer it.

My question is can a government stop a wallet from syncing with the blockchain if they decide to ban the currency completely and not allow anybody to use the wallet?
Will the wallet still function as normal and download the blockchain and will the user be able to send coins from the wallet to any other wallet in the world?

If they can do this then is there any way that this can be bypassed?

Please explain in detail if you could

Yes and No.

A government or your ISP can try to make it as difficult as possible to use Bitcoin by blocking your network access to Bitcoins default P2P port or by restricting / throttling your P2P traffic / bandwidth.

However, it will still be possible for a user to connect with the Bitcoin network by changing the default P2P port or by using a VPN or an anonymity network such as Tor for connectivity.

Governments and regulatory authorities have been unsuccessful in preventing the downloading of movies and music with P2P software like BitTorrent and the Bitcoin network protocol functions in much the same way.

Basically if you have working internet access, then you have access to the Bitcoin blockchain.

[chat]

Ok so im guessing that it is not so easy and a lot depends on the dv/sms/tor options to work such that anyone can sync the blockchain.

so why would it not be better for the developers or the really rich coin holders or even a sponsor try to create a network that can stay on free from govenment intervention to allow blockchain downloads.

i read somewhere that somebody plans to put the blockchain in space but that does not help the coin users in downloading the blockchain.

i have heard of mesh networking but could this possibly help to bypass the gov.

is there system that can serve the wide base of wallet users without creating bottlenecks

Im am sure there must be a system that can support all wallet users free from the gov.If the crypto world does not go ahead and create the infrastructure for the crypto world to be free of government intervention then I can say that it wont be long before there are many governemnts that will put a lock down on all wallets syncing with the network. This technology is very disruptive so the governments are definitely going to put a stop to it when it starts to grow and grow. Reality is that governments don't like to be controlled, they like to be in control

[BitcoinFX]

Ok so im guessing that it is not so easy and a lot depends on the dv/sms/tor options to work such that anyone can sync the blockchain.

so why would it not be better for the developers or the really rich coin holders or even a sponsor try to create a network that can stay on free from govenment intervention to allow blockchain downloads.

i read somewhere that somebody plans to put the blockchain in space but that does not help the coin users in downloading the blockchain.

i have heard of mesh networking but could this possibly help to bypass the gov.

is there system that can serve the wide base of wallet users without creating bottlenecks

Im am sure there must be a system that can support all wallet users free from the gov.If the crypto world does not go ahead and create the infrastructure for the crypto world to be free of government intervention then I can say that it wont be long before there are many governemnts that will put a lock down on all wallets syncing with the network. This technology is very disruptive so the governments are definitely going to put a stop to it when it starts to grow and grow. Reality is that governments don't like to be controlled, they like to be in control

Mesh Networking is the future of 'the internet' both for the people and by the people - you are 100% right about that - and Mesh Networks will also be good for both Bitcoin and for other future Blockchain technologies.

For example, the Free Network Foundation - See: https://www.thefnf.org/ are already actively working to 'Free the Network'.

This is a great and very informative watch: Free the Network: Hackers Take Back the Web - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx93WJPCCGs

[Soros Shorts]

so why would it not be better for the developers or the really rich coin holders or even a sponsor try to create a network that can stay on free from govenment intervention to allow blockchain downloads.

There are already bitcoind nodes running as Tor hidden services.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Fallback_Nodes

The list is a couple of months old and most of the nodes are down, I think because frankly not many people really need them at this time. I have a node accessible through Tor running in a different country from where I live, but that is for personal use. I may publish it when shit hits the fan, and I am sure many other people with hidden nodes would too.

[BitcoinFX]

so why would it not be better for the developers or the really rich coin holders or even a sponsor try to create a network that can stay on free from govenment intervention to allow blockchain downloads.

There are already bitcoind nodes running as Tor hidden services.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Fallback_Nodes

The list is a couple of months old and most of the nodes are down, I think because frankly not many people really need them at this time. I have a node accessible through Tor running in a different country from where I live, but that is for personal use. I may publish it when shit hits the fan, and I am sure many other people with hidden nodes would too.

Thanks for the link!

I've put a load of useful information in this thread that aims to empower Tor users to be safer online and when using Bitcoin or Alt. coins over Tor.

See: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=331077.0

I'll look to update the recommended avoid countries lists asap.

[hua_hui]

Impossible! It is the beauty of bitcoin no one is able to control.

[Madness]

nah Probably not ... but maybe they can stop it using Ports or shit ? since it's P2P like torrent ? idk rly 

[pikabit]

No fucking way. No they cant.

[God Donut]

No fucking way. No they cant.

North Korea government successfully shut down bitcoin usage in their country by not allowing anyone to have an internet connection. So it is possiburu

[pikabit]

No fucking way. No they cant.

North Korea government successfully shut down bitcoin usage in their country by not allowing anyone to have an internet connection. So it is possiburu

LOL. North Korea is an insane place out of the civilization. What they need is a revolution, start using this:

https://www.outernet.is/

sooner or later NK will wake up.

[vipgelsi]

Anything is possible.

[juju]

This is an open question to anybody who can answer it.

My question is can a government stop a wallet from syncing with the blockchain if they decide to ban the currency completely and not allow anybody to use the wallet?
Will the wallet still function as normal and download the blockchain and will the user be able to send coins from the wallet to any other wallet in the world?

If they can do this then is there any way that this can be bypassed?

Please explain in detail if you could

You don't even need the blockchain in order to make transactions, you can manually Create and then Sign your own transactions with your key then broadcast the transactions hex to the network. Their are a ton of services that allow for this- Blockchain.info, Toshi, much more 
https://blockchain.info/pushtx
https://blockchain.info/decode-tx
https://toshi.io/docs/#relay-transaction

Here is some good information:
http://www.righto.com/2014/02/bitcoins-hard-way-using-raw-bitcoin.html

Don't bother using Python's Random function as a source for address generation, it is not cryptographically strong.

(Remember that one user who used to post youtube videos of him brute forcing wallets?, he was probably just generating addresses using Pythons random till he found one with a balance greater than 0 that someone used)

[ABISprotocol]

This is an open question to anybody who can answer it.

My question is can a government stop a wallet from syncing with the blockchain if they decide to ban the currency completely and not allow anybody to use the wallet?
Will the wallet still function as normal and download the blockchain and will the user be able to send coins from the wallet to any other wallet in the world?

If they can do this then is there any way that this can be bypassed?

Please explain in detail if you could

You don't even need the blockchain in order to make transactions, you can manually Create and then Sign your own transactions with your key then broadcast the transactions hex to the network. Their are a ton of services that allow for this- Blockchain.info, Toshi, much more  
https://blockchain.info/pushtx
https://blockchain.info/decode-tx
https://toshi.io/docs/#relay-transaction

Here is some good information:
http://www.righto.com/2014/02/bitcoins-hard-way-using-raw-bitcoin.html

Don't bother using Python's Random function as a source for address generation, it is not cryptographically strong.

(Remember that one user who used to post youtube videos of him brute forcing wallets?, he was probably just generating addresses using Pythons random till he found one with a balance greater than 0 that someone used)

Sure, it's possible if you are using some shit service which relies basically on someone's website, which can either be shut down, blocked, threatened, or forced into using 'requirements' in order to continue being 'allowed' to continue with its 'license' to do business...  (A few sites / services, including exchanges, which too many people rely upon come to mind, that require or try to encourage you to use your 'realname' identity so they can later give it up to The Others, insert a few that come to mind here.)

But what alternatives are available to the failed (or at least, highly vulnerable) website-based model?  Not many, admittedly, but the numbers are increasing.  Decentralized, distributed p2p markets (as distributed software) of which I am personally aware, number right now at about 12, with some already being used and having development further refined and others being more in a testing and early development stage, though I'm completely sure that there are many more that I'm totally unaware of. An exchange alternative that is P2P (not the only one emerging, but here it is):
https://gist.github.com/drwasho/aa6ab79e92f2a876073e
https://github.com/OpenBazaar/OpenBazaar

Some possibility to help address parts of the overall _privacy_ problem (not a total solution or anything, just part of an exploration)
https://github.com/darkwallet/stealth.js

Also, your IP address can be temporarily blocked or even banned - I'm not saying it will happen to you, I'm just saying it's possible.  That doesn't mean you can't find a way to keep using bitcoin, I am just pointing out the obvious here.

p.s. Zerocash (_anonymity_ solution) is anticipated in Nov. or Dec. of 2014, hoping for the best when that release is out.

[LRENZ]

what you need is stealthcoin https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=681725

[Meuh6879]

a wallet from syncing with the blockchain

no.

client emit transaction to ledger.
ledger contain all btc incluse in private adress.
wallet can "read" the private adress (and retrieve the amount of btc linked to).

so ... you can't prevent someone to read the ledger and view the private adress.
you can't prevent someone to use the private adress from anything in the earth.

if someone can "block" this, bitcoin is over.
so ... this is not possible.

and it's great.
that's why bankster have fear.

[juju]

This is an open question to anybody who can answer it.

My question is can a government stop a wallet from syncing with the blockchain if they decide to ban the currency completely and not allow anybody to use the wallet?
Will the wallet still function as normal and download the blockchain and will the user be able to send coins from the wallet to any other wallet in the world?

If they can do this then is there any way that this can be bypassed?

Please explain in detail if you could

You don't even need the blockchain in order to make transactions, you can manually Create and then Sign your own transactions with your key then broadcast the transactions hex to the network. Their are a ton of services that allow for this- Blockchain.info, Toshi, much more  
https://blockchain.info/pushtx
https://blockchain.info/decode-tx
https://toshi.io/docs/#relay-transaction

Here is some good information:
http://www.righto.com/2014/02/bitcoins-hard-way-using-raw-bitcoin.html

Don't bother using Python's Random function as a source for address generation, it is not cryptographically strong.

(Remember that one user who used to post youtube videos of him brute forcing wallets?, he was probably just generating addresses using Pythons random till he found one with a balance greater than 0 that someone used)

Sure, it's possible if you are using some shit service which relies basically on someone's website, which can either be shut down, blocked, threatened, or forced into using 'requirements' in order to continue being 'allowed' to continue with its 'license' to do business...  (A few sites / services, including exchanges, which too many people rely upon come to mind, that require or try to encourage you to use your 'realname' identity so they can later give it up to The Others, insert a few that come to mind here.)

But what alternatives are available to the failed (or at least, highly vulnerable) website-based model?  Not many, admittedly, but the numbers are increasing.  Decentralized, distributed p2p markets (as distributed software) of which I am personally aware, number right now at about 12, with some already being used and having development further refined and others being more in a testing and early development stage, though I'm completely sure that there are many more that I'm totally unaware of. An exchange alternative that is P2P (not the only one emerging, but here it is):
https://gist.github.com/drwasho/aa6ab79e92f2a876073e
https://github.com/OpenBazaar/OpenBazaar

Some possibility to help address parts of the overall _privacy_ problem (not a total solution or anything, just part of an exploration)
https://github.com/darkwallet/stealth.js

Also, your IP address can be temporarily blocked or even banned - I'm not saying it will happen to you, I'm just saying it's possible.  That doesn't mean you can't find a way to keep using bitcoin, I am just pointing out the obvious here.

p.s. Zerocash (_anonymity_ solution) is anticipated in Nov. or Dec. of 2014, hoping for the best when that release is out.

I am not certain if you are assuming my workflow suggests using an actual online wallet service to store your Bitcoin. I would never do such a thing as this is how I see others lose Bitcoin. What I was suggesting was using addresses that you generated offline, so never actually storing bitcoin on a machine that has a network card or drivers. You then create an unsigned transaction, then sign the transaction and paste the resulting hex into one of the sites or nodes that is available, so they broadcast your transaction to the network and it gets mined into a block. You are kind of right about the centralization of this method as their arent many places to post signed transactions anonymously, but nothing is stopping us from creating more places/APIs to do so, We got nearly 3 Identical API's that do push transactions this week. Also your right that your IP address can be blocked by services etc. It is easy to change IP, takes less than 5 minutes on-top of that, most have access to VPN/Proxies.

I remember reading about Zero Cash around January of last year, if this ends up having significant improvements over the Bitcoin Protocol, then Bitcoin might adapt any beneficial changes which are possible to implement or hardforks to implement. I don't see Bitcoin being taken over by another chain at this point, although it is certainly possible. I am pretty skeptical towards alternative coins in general, however I feel like its an example of Darwinism. The coins with the most innovation tend to survive and those that are nothing other than find replaces of "Bit" and an older Timestamp and string die off.

Edit: Might be thinking of Zerocoin not Zerocash

[leannemckim46]

This is an open question to anybody who can answer it.

My question is can a government stop a wallet from syncing with the blockchain if they decide to ban the currency completely and not allow anybody to use the wallet?
Will the wallet still function as normal and download the blockchain and will the user be able to send coins from the wallet to any other wallet in the world?

If they can do this then is there any way that this can be bypassed?

Please explain in detail if you could

You don't even need the blockchain in order to make transactions, you can manually Create and then Sign your own transactions with your key then broadcast the transactions hex to the network. Their are a ton of services that allow for this- Blockchain.info, Toshi, much more 
https://blockchain.info/pushtx
https://blockchain.info/decode-tx
https://toshi.io/docs/#relay-transaction

Here is some good information:
http://www.righto.com/2014/02/bitcoins-hard-way-using-raw-bitcoin.html

Don't bother using Python's Random function as a source for address generation, it is not cryptographically strong.

(Remember that one user who used to post youtube videos of him brute forcing wallets?, he was probably just generating addresses using Pythons random till he found one with a balance greater than 0 that someone used)

This is true, however in order to effectively be able to use any of the above services you need to know which inputs are unspent on a private key that you control. In order to know this information, you essentially need to have access to the blockchain in some way. (or at the very least have access to the blockchain up to the point that you have received the last input that you wish to spend)