What happens when Bitcoins are illegalized in the whole world?

[simme101]

Ok, so I'm going a bit off topic here but there would also be an issue where people can't know what other traders are setting prices at (because those kinds of websites are illegal). If you are going to buy something in a competitive market then you usually research which alternative gets you the most bang for your buck. How would this be accomplished?

Look at what price in Bitcoin things are being sold at anywhere in the world, look up the dollar value of those goods being sold for Bitcoin, and there's your going market rate. Even if Bitcoin becomes 100% illegal and subject to a bloated federal War on Bitcoin, it will still be legal for people to publish going exchange rates.

NOOO! Everything about it must become illegal, you won't even be able to speak of it. ILLEGAL I SAY, ILLEGAL!!!

ok, enough pessimism for today, thanks for all the replies 

[luv2drnkbr]

It doesn't matter if it's illegal.  It becomes illegal, then a IRC Tor channel complete with a trust system like OTC pops up, and people still trade with them.  You send me BTC, I send you Dwolla or Paypal, with a note saying "thanks for painting my house" or something, or hell, I just mail you a prepaid debit card.  The thing about Bitcoin is that it CAN'T be stopped, so it really just doesn't even matter if they try.

[error]

What happens when an asteroid hits every national capital all on the same day?

[mizerydearia]

If bitcoins are illegal in us, then:


If bitcoins are illegal in the entire world, then:


Note: illegalization of bitcoin will help with distribution of water to many landlocked countries whilst flooding others out of existence due to the rapid spread of alpaca sock-wearing cryptoterrorism

If that doesn't work, then:

[grue]

If bitcoins are illegal in us, then:
[HUGE IMAGE]

If bitcoins are illegal in the entire world, then:
[HUGE IMAGE]
Note: illegalization of bitcoin will help with distribution of water to many landlocked countries whilst flooding others out of existence due to the rapid spread of alpaca sock-wearing cryptoterrorism

If that doesn't work, then:
[HUGE IMAGE]

Yay, Antarctica is still left! I hope alpaca socks are warm

[marcus_of_augustus]

Another "illegal" strawman troll I see .... what's that about the fifth one today?

[deuxmill]

Bitcoin is dangerous for every state in existence today . So i'm certain at some point soon there will be steps taken against it.

Possible scenarios : People chicken out and quit using Bitcoins

                            People don't chicken out and fight back ... this can be either finding holes in the legislation , going underground , and/or even terrorism.


And from what i saw so far people that are using Bitcoins mostly aren't speculators , they are people that really think bitcoins are a way to acquire freedom. Sure bitcoins brings a lot of "dangers" to society today , like paying taxes if you want to pay , like paying anonymously for drugs , sex , guns , murder , cloning , etc. States should start to reevaluate their way of doing business . Bitcoins will bring times when people won't afford to remain ignorant to politics or company/individual behavior and that is a great thing.

[MacFall]

...I have no intent in doing anything illegal.

Why not?

[gigitrix]

...I have no intent in doing anything illegal.

Why not?

You don't have to do stuff that's illegal just because you are anti-establishment. I have no intention of skirting the law with Botcoin, because I generally don't feel that the law stops me from doing anything I want to do (and in particular, I feel taxes are OK)

[MacFall]

Laws are nothing but the opinions of violent people backed up by violent threats. Most of them ought to be broken as often as possible. Especially since most of them are about preserving the power of those violent people, and with it, their ability to literally get away with mass murder, theft, and fraud.

You're right you don't have to do illegal things if you are anti-establishment. But if you don't, you're not very consistent.

[NoValues]

Im know im rehashing the same old ideas, but bitcoin will never
be shut down even if the US criminalizes it and starts prosecuting users
as long as a copy of the source is available people will use it.

The only real threat in my opinion to bitcoin is if the
US or another government decides to drop billions of dollars of buying
enough computing power to take over the network, but then sowhat?
we can always start another.

[thecomputerscientist]

...I have no intent in doing anything illegal.

Why not?

Precisely. It's like the Boston Tea Party in 1773. THAT was illegal as well. At some point people just say no, and if there are plenty of us we'll win. Bitcoins is Boston Tea Party part II. The only difference this time is that we throw the US dollar overboard

[billyjoeallen]

Ok, someone has to say it: the word is "criminalized" not "illegalized".

[androcles]

OK so a lot of people think that if bitcoins become criminalized they will drop in value.

An interesting theory, however..  can you think of any other good or service that drops in value post-criminalization? 

[Bazil]

If bitcoins became illegal I'd just move my stash over seas and wait it out.  With bitcoin, moving it around is really easy.

[Dansker]

If that happens, we will transfer them using short wave radio!

[Jaime Frontero]

this thread may be approaching the matter from the wrong direction.

has it occurred to anybody that probably the most effective way to stop Bitcoin would be to end cash?

governments hate it anyway - printing the stuff is a huge loss.  it fosters hidden income, and untaxed transactions.  and the electronic payment systems (visa, etc.) already in place could easily handle the extra workload.

what happens to something like Bitcoin if governments phase out cash, and decree pay-by-wave, phone-to-phone and bank cards?  maybe keeping coinage for gum machines and laundromats.  that strikes me as a much more likely scenario.  instead of being issued a social security number at birth (like in the US today), you are issued a bank card number.

in a case like that, all the advantages of Bitcoin would go away unless merchants were actually willing to accept raw (i.e., non-exchanged) Bitcoin.  which at that point would be unlikely, no?

[MacFall]

The chief advantage of bitcoin is its resistance to inflation and the lack of centralized control. If governments want to compete with bitcoin on those fronts, they will need to stop being governments.

[Marcus]

.
Valuable topic.  Thank you, Simme101 for starting this line of discussion.  Worth thinking about carefully:  e-Gold and Liberty Dollar started off with much enthusiasm, but they are no longer with us.

But e-Gold and Liberty Dollar were easy to attack.  Everyone here knows the situation: They had physical locations and human presence, while Bitcoin is designed to avoid that.

Bitcoin looks more like Hawala.  Hawala is either outright illegal or highly discouraged most every place that it exists.  And yet it has endured for 1,200 years.  May Bitcoin do so well!

Reference link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala

[Zamicol]

Precisely. It's like the Boston Tea Party in 1773. THAT was illegal as well. At some point people just say no, and if there are plenty of us we'll win. Bitcoins is Boston Tea Party part II. The only difference this time is that we throw the US dollar overboard

I knew I would get my day to join them in spirit! 

Bitcoin -  The new Boston Tea Party.