In regards to:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=99200.msg1086353#msg1086353I wanted to give this issue the attention it deserves. Here's the scenario: A loved one is kidnapped. The fiends demand a ransom to be payed in Bitcoin before the person is released. There is no way to stake out a money drop. There are no bank accounts to trace. The kidnapper gets the money with no fear of getting caught after the fact and may or may not release the victim.
Bitcoin has just open a big can of worms. Quite a conundrum. In the movies, the bad guy exchanged a briefcase of unmarked small bills for the victim and the chase ensues. Depending on the cleverness of the villain, he may or may not get away. There have been very intricate plots created to dramatize this basic element. Bitcoin is different. No drama is needed. A simple business transaction and it's done. We need to make sure we seperate our suspension of disbelief in fictional stories from reality.
Sure, if Bitcoin remains as an anonymous or at least pseudonymous transaction, then this could happen. But so can a whole lot of other things we have never thought about before. Before I talk about the good things, I'm going to develop the kidnapping business a little further. Let's say the victim's champion does not believe that the kidnapper will release the victim. The champion counter-proposes that the money be put in a 2-of-2 escrow instead and the key will be given after the victim is released. The only risk the perp has is that he will not get the money, but neither will the champion and he runs the risk of retribution. With much less risk, kidnappers will probably demand less money. Another threat the kidnapper faces is an anonymous bounty for evidence of their crime and community retribution in the form of vigilantism. Criminals need to fear cellphones with cameras or even talking about their crimes. Maybe official crime enforcement channels are unable to do this, but Bitcoin makes it possible. Of course this gets convoluted with fraud and other shenanigans, but that's for other topics.
Now I want to talk about the real crime that threatens civilization to the core. 99.99++% of our economy is counterfeit. Wars that kill millions of people are funded by counterfeit money. Bitcoin can end that. That's a simple argument, but the most profound ones usually are.
