Who might realistically pose a threat to bitcoin?

[niko]

Please give it some thought before voting and discussing, so as to avoid simply stating your political and philosophical biases instead of providing a realistic, sober analysis.

Many people on this forum presume that bitcoin will eventually come under serious attack. Most often it's stated that "a government" is expected to attack bitcoin for some reason, or for no reason at all. Other culprits might include certain corporations, or unintended consequences of actions of users or groups of users (for example, the doomsday scenarios discussed in relation to ASIC mining).

On the other hand, perhaps you think that some or all of the above entities might actually find reasons to embrace bitcoin rather than destroy it.

[Fuzzy]

The threat will escalate through all of the listed entities until either Bitcoin (or any other form of competing monetary threat) dies or those posing a threat are no longer in a position of power.


We have/are already seeing the "individuals" hacking and DDOSing bitcoin, though those efforts are mostly for profit, not necessarily aimed at killing Bitcoin.

Next we will see the "private" try to first beat Bitcoin, then failing that, they will enlist "government" to do their dirty work.

In the end, the big boys (bilderbergs/rothschilds/rockefellers) will pull whatever strings they see fit, usually under the guise of the above entities, to herd the rats back into the cage and onto the running wheels.

Thus the cycle of monetary control and enslavement that has been repeating over the past centuries continues. Good times  

[LightRider]

There is no threat to bitcoin. There may be attacks against the bitcoin economy. The technical foundation of bitcoin will likely fail only if foreseeable problems are not addressed as soon as possible, allowing an entrenched interest to maintain the statusquo for their own benefit and allow the entire economy to go down with it. Since the problems would be only technical in nature, and we as a species are very good at solving technical problems, then it would likely not be a real threat. The threats to humanity come from our own crippling traditions, and hopefully we shift away from destructive models and methodologies, including the abandonment of bitcoin, and money altogether, and towards a meaningful global social awareness and community.

[AmazonStuff]

I think there will be a lot of attack's in the future by everyone from the list, but none of them can cause serious damage.

[Fuzzy]

There is no threat to bitcoin.

The very aim of Bitcoin is to undermine the entities who control the world by controlling money. To say that there is no threat to Bitcoin is optimistic.

I think there will be a lot of attack's in the future by everyone from the list, but none of them can cause serious damage.

I'm amazed and at the same time disturbed at how much faith people have in Bitcoin. There are powers out there that can overthrow whole countries in the pursuit of their own interests.

While I wish Bitcoin was as strong as everyone imagines it to be, such carefree faith has brought down many a giant in the past.

[niko]

There is no threat to bitcoin.

The very aim of Bitcoin is to undermine the entities who control the world by controlling money. To say that there is no threat to Bitcoin is optimistic.

I've been using Bitcoin to transfer and exchange government money between Canada and the US. I'm also cautiosly using Bitcoin as a store of value. I spend significant ammount of time on this forum. I used to mine back in the days (sic!).
I fail to see how my usage of btc is undermining anyone or anything significantly.

[Fuzzy]

There is no threat to bitcoin.

The very aim of Bitcoin is to undermine the entities who control the world by controlling money. To say that there is no threat to Bitcoin is optimistic.

I've been using Bitcoin to transfer and exchange government money between Canada and the US. I'm also cautiosly using Bitcoin as a store of value. I spend significant ammount of time on this forum. I used to mine back in the days (sic!).
I fail to see how my usage of btc is undermining anyone or anything significantly.

EDIT: I should add that I've had a few lengthy conversations with a very experienced corporate tax accountant with regards to bitcoin.

You're bypassing the very channels the government uses to track finances. If they can't track or observe the money, they can't impose their rules and regulations on it, which is a threat to their tax base. One person doing this isn't an issue, but if everyone started to do this, there would be trouble, to say the least.

While I personally think what you're doing is great, I would also advise you to stay diligent in using caution.

[niko]

You're bypassing the very channels the government uses to track finances. If they can't track or observe the money, they can't impose their rules and regulations on it, which is a threat to their tax base. One person doing this isn't an issue, but if everyone started to do this, there would be trouble, to say the least.

While I personally think what you're doing is great, I would also advise you to stay diligent in using caution.

I think the only reason I'm bypassing the usual channels is simply because of obscurity and novelty of bitcoin today. If and when it becomes significant, it will also be regulated. I will most likely keep using it.  Those who embraced bitcoin with the hope of avoiding taxation or fighting the government will move on to something else. In my opinion they should really stop trying to solve their problem by running away from it.

[Gabi]

Anyone able to do a 51% attack

[tatsuchan]

The only threat is COBRA and Skeletor  

Seriously though, I think the biggest threat Bitcoin has is having the idea stolen by Master Card/Visa and being kept centralized and highly commercialized.  Until you can easily buy Bitcoins online in a cheap and secure way, have a stable price for merchants, have a user-friendly system that your mom could use, and have at least one major company use them (Amazon, Walmart, ebay) then Bitcoin might just die off from annoyed miners that are angry about losing money and time.

Lots of us put a lot of time and money into it, but really, if something more profitable pops up we'll all be jumping onto that endeavor.  If Bitcoin is overshadowed by Visa-Coin or Google-coin, no one will care about Bitcoin, and worse yet, no one will trust it.  I think this problem is overlooked under the entire 51% argument.  Mobile payments and online currencies are coming.  The only question is who will make it first.  Apple is already developing a system, and they'll be locking out other payment sources.  We could easily get pegged into an ebay/paypal situation where even if you HATE the service, you can't use it well without adopting a suck ass corrupt payment system.  Just imagine how awesome paypal would be with extremely low percentage cuts ran on bitcoin.

[ridgemont4]

The biggest threat to Bitcoin is its very own creator, who is so much of a coward, he must remain anonymous. For all we know, he could be a United States government insider, hired to create this as some sort of "one world government" experiment. In that case I better be careful, because that's a very powerful group who knows what they're doing. I might be followed by mysterious characters after this post and may end up missing soon.

[Polvos]

Options A, B and C are the same. So I think this is the correct answer.

[miaviator]

Many people on this forum presume that bitcoin will eventually come under serious attack. Most often it's stated that "a government" is expected to attack bitcoin for some reason, or for no reason at all.

Why would a government attack bitcoin?  A Fed or central bank would attack bitcoin not a government.

On the other hand, perhaps you think that some or all of the above entities might actually find reasons to embrace bitcoin rather than destroy it.

Like JP Morgan building a giant mining farm for pure profit?

How about Pirate/Giga/Others creating a BitCoin central bank and managing over 51% to control the currency? (The central bank of bitcoin)

And other conspiracies...

[memvola]

My theory is, bilderbergs/rothschilds/rockefellers wouldn't see Bitcoin as a threat in principle. They don't create the waves, they just know how to ride them.

Corporations are not the same, they have to be in bed with the governments, which are in turn under the thumb of the State, which is sponsored by the corporations. The good thing is, this structure doesn't have a clear decision making system and is clumsy. The whole thing is more like an elephantine kludge than a living thing. Bitcoin has a lot of time to grow before the bureaucrats figure out a way to properly address the situation.

[Saturn7]

Bitcoin is not a threat to Banks, Banks are a threat to themselves.
If you think about it, what is a bank? Its a glorified spread sheet.
There is no proof of work behind digital money. The balance of your bank account is just a field in a database. That's it. There is no magic.

Any threat that is perceived by bitcoin simply comes from the lack of complexity by those "offended" by it.

The entire global banking system is based on 1960's technology, sure its been upgraded since, but they are just upgrading the same basic framework. No fundamental changes have been made.

[cbeast]

Bitcoin is an opportunity for the next Bilderberger/Rothchild wannabe to grab the brass ring. Someday the paranoids may be talking about the Vladimir/Matthew conspiracies.

[Serith]

You're bypassing the very channels the government uses to track finances. If they can't track or observe the money, they can't impose their rules and regulations on it, which is a threat to their tax base. One person doing this isn't an issue, but if everyone started to do this, there would be trouble, to say the least.

While I personally think what you're doing is great, I would also advise you to stay diligent in using caution.

I think the only reason I'm bypassing the usual channels is simply because of obscurity and novelty of bitcoin today. If and when it becomes significant, it will also be regulated. I will most likely keep using it.  Those who embraced bitcoin with the hope of avoiding taxation or fighting the government will move on to something else. In my opinion they should really stop trying to solve their problem by running away from it.

I think government is the only real threat to Bitcoin because it doesn't have to play by the rules and always can invent new. There wouldn't be any conspiracy behind government attacking Bitcoin, instead it would be a natural process that happened many times before. First, government will try to control and regulate bitcoin transactions, but they can't just magically make it happen they will need means to enforce those regulations, and as we all know, so far there is no feasible way to do so in a cost effective manner, even FBI report points to that. Second, when the first approach won't work they will try to impose even more regulations and restrictions, and will continue to do so until they have control over Bitcoin or it would become impractical for people to use it.
There is two possibilities how Bitcoin can overcome that. First one is fast and painless, I really hope that would be the case, Bitcoin would spread and gain popularity so fast that government wouldn't have enough time to react. I estimate from 6 to 12 months before they would attempt to regulate Bitcoin, at first it would be very subtle though. Second possibility is that despite draconian restrictions or even being illegal Bitcoin would be so useful that people will ignore government and use any way.

[Spekulatius]

I say: damdamdamdam... SATOSHI the grandmaster of bitcoin!

Pls Mr. Satoshi, dont return! Your iconic figure and mysterious genious is bolstering the bitcoin myth. A second coming of yours as its creator and voice would undoubtedly draw away the magic and let bitcoin fall prey to your public perception and criticism. There is nothing that could be improved by it, only harmed. Pls stay in the background and enjoy the appreciation you are valued within the community.

[BitPay Business Solutions]

the most likely scenario is that companies like Apple and facebook come up with a centralized virtual currency, that to the uninformed public, offers 99% of the advantages of bitcoin.  Like MintChip 2.0.  they will convince their buddies at Starbucks etc to take theirs and not take bitcoin, and bitcoiners will be seen as outcasts.  Kind of like the people who use Usenet today for unfiltered news.  just not a mainstream thing.

The way to counteract this is to grow bitcoin as fast as we possibly can, before the big companies can react.  We have been working every day towards that goal by focusing on business adoption.  Others are out there every day trying to get new users one-at-a-time.  It's a winnable game if we keep moving forward.

[kiba]

the most likely scenario is that companies like Apple and facebook come up with a centralized virtual currency, that to the uninformed public, offers 99% of the advantages of bitcoin.  

Companies like Apple and facebook wants to make lot of money, not create an ecosystem. As long as they're fixated on making their own walled garden with high fees, we have an advantage.

If we accumulate a coalition of companies into a Bitcoin army, then even apple and google can't stop us. Moreso, if any of the biggest tech company decides to join the army.

We need to become so attractive, that they rather join us than fight us.