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Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

cointelegraph.com

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Re: Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

#131

Post by kypro »

throwaaskjdfh wrote: post #46

Supporters of Bitcoin should be in favor of making it illegal in as many jurisdictions as possible. It's the only way to be sure it's as resistant to government power as it claims to be.

There's a meme in the Bitcoin community that mocks how some Bitcoin believers argue almost every event, no matter how bad it seems on the surface, is actually good for Bitcoin.

https://www.google.com/search?q="this+is+good+for+bitcoin"

I understand what you're saying, but I find it hard to believe making Bitcoin illegal worldwide would be good for those who invest or simply believe in the future of Bitcoin.

Re: Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

#132

Post by Taek »

pharmakom wrote: post #90
throwaaskjdfh wrote: post #46

Supporters of Bitcoin should be in favor of making it illegal in as many jurisdictions as possible. It's the only way to be sure it's as resistant to government power as it claims to be.

Bitcoin isn’t ready for that yet.

Probably more ready than you expect. The logistics behind actually banning Bitcoin are pretty convoluted. Anyone can just run a node, anyone can just transact, you can trade btc for cash OTC, there are literally satellites that beam the blockchain updates to every populated corner of the earth, and so on.

Bitcoin has been preparing to be banned at a government level for a long time.

Re: Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

#133

Post by andyana »

greyman wrote: post #78
Shadonototro wrote: post #48

bitcoins show the nasty nature of the people all about profits, nobody care about solving problems, they just want the price to grow to make profit from their investment

There are also early adopters who are running their node and don't plan to cash their bitcoins. They just want this thing to exists for ideological reasons. What worries me more are some "inhuman" traits in cryptocurrencies. Most notable is one where if your crypto gets stolen, there is no standard way to "enforce the justice" by catching the thief, and give the money back to the rightful holder. This is something ve…

Those inhumane traits exist with cash too, don't they? I've never gotten my money back after being ripped off.

Re: Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

#134

Post by rawtxapp »

kypro wrote: post #131
throwaaskjdfh wrote: post #46

Supporters of Bitcoin should be in favor of making it illegal in as many jurisdictions as possible. It's the only way to be sure it's as resistant to government power as it claims to be.

There's a meme in the Bitcoin community that mocks how some Bitcoin believers argue almost every event, no matter how bad it seems on the surface, is actually good for Bitcoin. https://www.google.com/search?q="this+is+good+for+bitcoin" I understand what you're saying, but I find it hard to believe making Bitcoin illegal worldwide would be good for those who invest or simply believe in the future of Bitcoin.

You can argue that so far they have been right, in that no bad news has really "killed" Bitcoin and there have been lots of "Bitcoin is Dead" predictions[1].

1: https://www.bitcoinisdead.org/

Re: Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

#135

Post by emn13 »

dadoge wrote: post #19
dd36 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who bribed or put the pressure on El Salvador? Outwardly, it doesn’t make any sense except as a publicity stunt.

22% of their GDP is remittance based. The US treats them like shit since they have the USD as currency. God forbid a country wants more independence 70% of the country has no bank, for Bitcoin all you need is the internet and a simple wallet app.

It's certainly an interesting social experiment. However, I'm curious how they want to prevent sales tax evasion. Or maybe they've just given up that fight? In any case, though I'm deeply skeptical that bitcoin has any value - a solid proof of concept in the small scale is certainly a good way to put it to the test.

Re: Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

#136

Post by dijit »

adwi wrote: post #113

Re the carbon footprint argument with Bitcoin: I’m curious how the energy use of just a top 5 retail bank compares to Bitcoin. Chase [0], for instance, has over 5,000 retail locations and 16,000 ATMs. And the servers, and call centers/corporate offices to support 200,000 employees. And the cars they drive back and forth to those offices, and the construction of new ones, and flights (some private), etc etc. How much…

This equivocation has been investigated quite succinctly: http://climatestate.com/2018/01/15/energy-consumption-bitcoi....

Re: Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

#137

Post by Taek »

throwaaskjdfh wrote: post #83
nathias wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea its really great to be prosecuted for no reason except the whims of the powerful, we should really all be in favor of making everything illegal by default.

No, being prosecuted at the whim of the powerful is horrible, but Bitcoin claims to be a kind of technological "escape hatch" from this kind of abuse. The sooner we find out that it isn't an escape hatch, the better. We can then return to social and political hard work of curbing the powerful, instead of pretending we can just take our cryptocurrencies and escape.

That's a foregone conclusion isn't it? With the recent news from El Salvador, Bitcoin is already stepping up to the plate as a circumvention for sanctions.

Re: Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

#138

Post by keymone »

MereInterest wrote: post #122
keymone wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zero carbon footprint and zero carbon in transaction costs. You simply don’t understand what is that energy used for. It’s definitely not for processing transactions.

The energy use is for processing transactions. The block reward exists to give an incentive to process transactions.

Categorically false. Exactly zero energy is required to produce a block. If your statement were true and bitcoin required Switzerland’s worth of energy to produce a block - how on earth did satoshi mine all the early blocks by himself?

Your understanding of how it all works is simply flawed.

Energy is required to satisfy difficulty requirement, which has to do with chain security, not with transaction processing.

Re: Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

#139

Post by tw04 »

torcete wrote: post #101

The official narrative in the UK is "don't invest your money in cryptos, you are going to lose it all". However, if you happen to have cryptos you must declare them! I wonder if the dutch government bans Bitcoin, that means that there is no need to declare anything. After all, it doesn't fulfill any function as money, means of payment or store of value.

That logic makes absolutely no sense. Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it has no value. Selling drugs is illegal in most countries. Drugs are still a store of value in those countries and most of them require you to pay taxes on gains from selling or trading them.

Re: Dutch official calls for complete ban on Bitcoin

#140

Post by Lutger »

ganzuul wrote: post #94
heywherelogingo wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think young people are using bitcoin for any reason other than to get rich quick. The young these days are highly conformant and compliant - got jabs? It's gen x and older who are thoughtfully rebellious.

You think boomers are thoughtfully rebellious? The generation that presided over the entire planet getting polluted with plastic?

Boomers aren't rebellious at all.
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