Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any police organization that investigates ordinary theft would absolutely investigate a theft of Bitcoin.
See: Mt. Gox.
Yes, the Japanese police investigated and the CEO Mark Karpeles went to jail for a couple years.
Bitcoin hits $10,000
301–310 of 389 posts
Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000
#302Earlier quoted context omitted.
You mean the USA government? Because they have no legal basis to take action. Rule of law is weird like that.
Legislatures pass all kinds of new laws to restrain new technologies. (Sometimes for good reasons, sometimes not.)
Sure, but that usually requires an act of Congress. You can’t just pass it as an administrative rule.
Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000
#303“Rosenstreich at online trading firm Swissquote said bitcoin’s surge harks to the surprises of the U.K. referendum on European Union membership and President Trump’s election. “We have underestimated the populist movements,” he said. “There is growing unease on how central banks and governments are managing fiat currencies. Ordinary people globally understand why a decentralized asset is the ultimate safe haven.”” Th…
10x return isn't worth the downside
Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000
#304Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is nonsense. This is being driven by speculation / minuscule interest rates / greed. Very little of the demand for btc in the past year is due to lack of faith in institutions.
Let me try to make the case for why Bitcoin could be a useful beyond greed. I can't really think of many reasons why you would use crypto to pay for a coffee or a sandwich if you live in the West (or frankly, even most developing nations). On the other hand, I can definitely see the utility in a censorship-resistant digital medium to store wealth. To me, this latter use case has much, much more potential to serve the…
I'm actually taking too a few people in Venezuela who may do some work for me and I'm going to pay them in Bitcoin, it seems a much option than their currency at the moment.
Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000
#305Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is absolutely nothing that would prevent a government outlawing and criminalizing bitcoin at any point in time. With one stroke of a pen government can outlaw owning bitcoins or performing any transactions in bitcoins. I'd say this is bound to happen eventually with certainty because no government would be willing to lose control on currency (especially ability to pull it out of thin air) and thereby the power…
> almost every country requires that transactions must occur in its national currency. I've never heard of such laws. You have a source on this?
This is definitely not true, many businesses in Latin America will accept dollars, and not just in Mexico.
Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000
#306Earlier quoted context omitted.
Let me try to make the case for why Bitcoin could be a useful beyond greed. I can't really think of many reasons why you would use crypto to pay for a coffee or a sandwich if you live in the West (or frankly, even most developing nations). On the other hand, I can definitely see the utility in a censorship-resistant digital medium to store wealth. To me, this latter use case has much, much more potential to serve the…
There is absolutely nothing that would prevent a government outlawing and criminalizing bitcoin at any point in time. With one stroke of a pen government can outlaw owning bitcoins or performing any transactions in bitcoins. I'd say this is bound to happen eventually with certainty because no government would be willing to lose control on currency (especially ability to pull it out of thin air) and thereby the power…
For this to happen there would need to be global heads of governments consensus and look how wonderfully the UN is working... it’s a joke. So the scenario you paint is impossible.
Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000
#3077 years ago: The first bitcoin article on HN with comments! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1532670 One of the posters says the feds will shut it down. I also thought this too. This remains one of the most enduring mysteries of Bitcoin to me. Why has the government taken such a hands off approach?
You hit the nail on the head. I think if Bitcoin had started out with the private and untraceable transactions from ZCash or Monero, governments would have banned it long ago. I still expect ZCash and Monero to be banned eventually. Bitcoin is actually much less private and more traceable than cash, and so governments seem willing to tolerate it. (Though China did ban it...)
There are mixers that hide the coins and stuff. Bitcoin's level of anonymity might just be sufficient.
Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000
#3087 years ago: The first bitcoin article on HN with comments! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1532670 One of the posters says the feds will shut it down. I also thought this too. This remains one of the most enduring mysteries of Bitcoin to me. Why has the government taken such a hands off approach?
You mean the USA government? Because they have no legal basis to take action. Rule of law is weird like that.
SEC and IRS is a real thing. Which means they can regulate it behind these organizations.
Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000
#309Earlier quoted context omitted.
If the value prop of Bitcoin is that it is a store of value comparable to gold (which is now what it is being sold as as far as I can tell), it doesn't need to skyrocket in price. It needs to hold value during a recession. How in the world is that going to happen when so many people holding it right now are speculators looking to make a buck? They will flee and the price will tank. How is that a store of value?
The truth is, nobody really knows what is driving the price up. It’s not the DNMs, the high price and fees are a PITA for them. Could be artificial pump via USDT. Could be individuals or even nations under financial sanctions dumping cash into the markets. Could be speculators in Western markets. Could be people in countries with unstable currencies looking to hedge their losses. We know all of these are factors - un…
Or it could be all of the above and then some. For some reason we as humans like everything neat and tidy and be able to point our finger at one thing and say this is it. If there’s anything you can learn from the world and why it operates the way it does and how some events that would seem unthinkable eventually transpire, is that the world is much more complex than anyone gives it credit. This goes for economies, markets, bitcoin growth, wars, policies, lobbying and just about everything else. So yeah, I’d say it’s a number of reasons.
Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000
#310Honest question: Is Bitcoin used in significant quantities for "legitimate"/legal transactions? I don't know a single person who has bought anything with a Bitcoin, or received payment. From my non-economic POV, it sure seems like /pure speculation/.
I have received payment for programming work in Bitcoin. I also used it to buy a movie ticket one night when my bank account had run out at the end of the month.