Online Cash Bitcoin Could Challenge Governments, Banks

Discussion in 'privacy general' started by nightrace, Apr 16, 2011.

  1. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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  2. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/27/inside-japan-s-bitcoin-heist.html
     
  3. Dermot7

    Dermot7 Registered Member

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  4. Cutting_Edgetech

    Cutting_Edgetech Registered Member

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  5. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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    Bitcoin is not real money: Kudlow.

    -- Tom
     
  6. Dermot7

    Dermot7 Registered Member

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    http://arstechnica.com/business/201...in-japan-for-queries-from-worried-bitcoiners/
     
  7. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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  8. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

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    MtGox sets up call center in Japan for queries from worried Bitcoiners
    http://arstechnica.com/business/201...in-japan-for-queries-from-worried-bitcoiners/
     
  9. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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  10. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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    Last edited: Mar 3, 2014
  11. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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  12. Dermot7

    Dermot7 Registered Member

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    http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/03/bitcoin-child-abuse-hack-cameron-filters
     
  13. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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  14. Dave0291

    Dave0291 Registered Member

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    I'm curious as to why you're quick to call it FUD. It's a tactic that has been used before, and using Bitcoins to donate to and buy material from illicit onion sites is standard practice according to some LEA friends of mine. I always believed that if Bitcoin was ever going to actually be used for anything, it would mostly be illegal purchases. I think it's pretty fair to say that belief has a lot of solid evidence and cases to support it. I'm also wondering whether after the continuing Mt Gox fiasco whether anyone, criminal or not, will continue to trust cryptocurrency. You can't in your right mind think that nearly 500 million in losses that are just..gone..is a part of the "growing pains" of cryptocurrency and things will be all hunky dory again soon. That loss is a result of a severe company failure and a lack of oversight and safety of the entire system. Unless people enjoy the "Doge" and other joke currency, somebody best get their sh** together and quickly.
     
  15. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    You miss my point.

    I'm sure that Bitcoins have been used in all sorts of illegal transactions, that all sorts of fraud has been perpetrated with them, and so on. There's no doubt about that.

    The same is true for cash, gold, tulip bulbs, guns, knives, baseball bats, motor vehicles, etc. Let X represent any one of them.

    What's FUD is the tactic of using evidence that X is used in illegal ways as an argument for heavily regulating X, or for making X outright illegal.

    I'm coming from an extreme cryptoanarchistic perspective, I know. But that's where I'm at, in these days of troubled times, when you can't tell ...
     
  16. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

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  17. Dave0291

    Dave0291 Registered Member

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    You make a great point, and perhaps I did miss that in your post..although to be fair simply saying "FUD" and leaving it at that leaves a lot of room for interpretation of your point, lol. I actually believe though that regulation is the key to making cryptocurrency a success. Is that contradictory to the intentions of its creators? Indeed. However, it's painfully obvious thus far that those who have been trusted with it can't be trusted. Bitcoin and its relatives can't afford too many Mt. Gox incidents if there is to be any hope of its survival.
     
  18. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Thanks :)

    And yes, I was far too cryptic.

    I agree that government regulation will be necessary for Bitcoin to replace, for example, PayPal or bank wire transfers.

    But the cool thing about Bitcoin and its descendants is that can happen while the technical guts remain internationally peer-to-peer. Unlike, for example e-gold or Liberty Reserve, their is no central owner that can be coerced or taken down.
     
  19. Dave0291

    Dave0291 Registered Member

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    No one person perhaps, but you can still take down transaction companies which are still going to be needed at least for some time to come. It's the technical guts that are a part of the current problem, the software isn't secure itself.
     
  20. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    There are no essential "transaction companies". There are exchanges, of course, and mining pools. And there are various other associated entities.

    But none of that is essential. All that's needed is a P2P network of clients. If there were no mining pools to drive up the difficulty of solving blocks and generating new Bitcoins, it would again become possible for individuals to do that on typical PCs.

    Yes, it needs some work, for sure. Maybe Bitcoin is just a prototype. Selection pressure will drive the evolution of more secure descendants.
     
  21. PaulyDefran

    PaulyDefran Registered Member

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    I agree, FUD. BTC will never supersede CASH as the preferred currency of criminals.
     
  22. jwcca

    jwcca Registered Member

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    Think N-S-A
    They see all and hear all and have enough resources to step in and disrupt things and get 'well paid' at the same time.
    Much more straight forward than bothering with legislation.
     
  23. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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  24. Haggishunter

    Haggishunter Guest

    I think Bitcoin in principle is an excellent idea. If only people would keep them in their own wallets. However, today I checked bitcoin.org. The server goes via Panama to Germany. Well, does that ring a bello_O In Germany, there are only two persons capable of devising such a virtual currency. One is in Berlin and had to give up his encryption business in the 80s because of the German BND and the CIA. A decent and serious person who probably now enjoys his retirement. And the other one? Yes: Our blueboxer from the 80s. I am convinced its is Mr "Military Strength" WH who is the "mastermind". Am I just paranoid or even mad? What do you think? Me, I smell a rat.
     
  25. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    When I was much younger in the late 80s and early 90s, there was a very common sentiment in the US that cash was going the way of the dinosaurs, and by the 21st century, everything was going to be paid for with credits on plastic cards. This was way before the web and online purchases. 25 years later and cash is still here and shows no sign of going away. After playing around with small business in the interveaning years, I have a good idea why. As much as governments would like to control and tax every transaction, in the real world, this stiffles economies. Cash is a necessary lubricant to the world economy and informal anonymous unaccounted for transactions, whether for something legal or illegal, are a good part of the world economy and the money generated from them works itself into the formal economy where every transaction is accounted for in a significant way.
     
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