U.S. Government Freezes Bitcoin Funds

I don't know whether it's a Ponzi scheme or not, but it occurs to me that if there are a sufficient number of bitcoins available out there, it would be a really easy way for organized crime to launder money. Buy bitcoins with dirty money, transfer them around a bit, cash them in for laundered money. I have no idea the total number of these things, but it could be why the government(s) are going crazy about them.

 

How dose one buy these ?
Im guessing here , but 2K + internet purchases from the Nato type of world.
Paypal,Visa,BC,MC, Cash .. So-far

 

Here's the thing about bitcoin, there is NO WAY that the government, ANY government can successfully regulate it. The only thing they can regulate about it is the EXCHANGE of bitcoin to an existing, established fiat currency.

--Begin slight but critically important tangent--
Now, I know that some, including some on this board, hold to the opinion (belief, assertion WHATEVER...MOVE ON) that bitcoin is itself a fiat currency. Those that do not hold this opinion do so because bitcoin and its derivative "altcoins" are indeed backed by something. They weren't created out of thin air, they were created by WORK. They were created by electricity and processing power provided by the network of computer users and their CPUs, GPUs and specialized hardware to 'mine' the coins. This is where the term 'proof of work' comes into play when talking about bitcoin and the other altcoins.
--End tangent--

As long as there are two computers that can talk to each other that have free processing power and are willing to run the bitcoin/altcoin wallet in server mode and devote processing time to the task, the "difficulty" level will automatically adjust (eventually) so that blocks are generated every 10 minutes, coins are mined, transactions are processed and verified and people are "paid".

You pay for electricity, why not get a fraction of a bitcoin/altcoin for it instead of just some light or heat that dissipates and is gone once it leaves your presence? These things have value because someone is willing to trade for it, period. Same with gold, same with silver, same with copper/brass/lead that's been formed a specific way to hold a couple of other chemicals. Hell, you can even get a physical bitcoin if you really want to but that kind of defeats the purpose of a fully decentralized system and lets not just the camel's nose into the tent but the whole damned herd.

As long as your client, your wallet and the network are all in software and everything is distributed and you keep all transactions bitcoin only...the government can do NOTHING because they have NO CONTROL over it because it's as anonymous as it can get.

It's the ultimate barter. Unless you rat yourself out, who else is going to do it as long as both parties have something that the other wants and fiat currency isn't it?

 

Actually, not necessarily. I don't know about you but I have 4 bitcoin addresses (and 2 each of LTC, DGC, FTC and even BQC...and half a dozen other altcoins because I was playing for a short while with them).

Just because you post one address doesn't, can't and won't associate it with any other address until there's a transaction between the two and until you post the OTHER address somewhere on the net, nobody knows address #2 belongs to you. It makes Swiss bank accounts look like facebook!

 

I looked at probably every other AltCoin out there. For me, Unless there is a retail/commercial marketplace where i can 'spend' them or a service provider where i can use them for services i need. I'm not going to play. As soon as there is a retailer/service provider that I want to use that accepts LTC, PPC, BQC, CNC, FTC .. etc. I'll take a look at them. Right now, only seems to be that BitCoin has attracted the attention of commercial entities.

 

Basically if they can shut down all the Hawalas across the globe that have been in existance for what, maybe a thousand years then they might be able to do that to the Bitcoin Hawala .. oh did i say that?

 

Published on May 11, 2013
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the currency of an independent Scotland. Max argues that bitcoin will force the banking system to reinvent itself or die, for what can be more of an invisible hand but a cryptologically guarded, invisible currency. In the second half, Max talks to Glaswegian comedian, Frankie Boyle, about Scottish independence, Boris Johnson, the mainstream media, being semi-banned from the BBC and about George Osborne's Help to Buy housing scheme being like eating toilet tissue while trapped in a loveless marriage caused by negative equity.



Not family friendly language around 38-40mins...Max freaking out.

 

Not So Anonymous: Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Tightens Identity Requirement - Forbes

"
Since the crypto-currency Bitcoin hit the limelight, many libertarians and privacy advocates have heralded it as anonymous, digital cash. But the world’s biggest Bitcoin exchange–and the U.S. regulators breathing down its neck–see things differently.
On Thursday Mt. Gox announced that it would begin requiring “verification” for all accounts seeking to deposit or withdraw currencies other than Bitcoin, a measure that means users would need to submit government identification and a utility bill or information about the company they work for to trade Bitcoins for traditional money, in effect ending anonymous use of the service.
“The Bitcoin market continues to evolve, as do regulations and conditions of compliance for Mt. Gox to continue bringing secure services to our customers,” reads a statement on Mt. Gox’s site. “It['s] our responsibility to provide a trusted and legal exchange, and that includes making sure that we are operating within strict anti-money laundering rules and preventing other malicious activity.”
The new restrictions from Mt. Gox–which controls well over half of all Bitcoin trades–comes on the heels of an online currency crackdown. An indictment unsealed earlier in the week against Liberty Reserve, another digital currency service, alleged that it engaged in $6 billion worth of money launderingthrough its anonymity-friendly payment system.
"
The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable
"
Making small talk with your pot dealer sucks. Buying cocaine can get you shot. What if you could buy and sell drugs online like books or light bulbs? Now you can: Welcome to Silk Road.
About three weeks ago, the U.S. Postal Service delivered an ordinary envelope to Mark's door. Inside was a tiny plastic bag containing 10 tabs of LSD. "If you had opened it, unless you were looking for it, you wouldn't have even noticed," Mark told us in a phone interview.

Mark, a software developer, had ordered the 100 micrograms of acid through a listing on the online marketplace Silk Road. He found a seller with lots of good feedback who seemed to know what they were talking about, added the acid to his digital shopping cart and hit "check out." He entered his address and paid the seller 50 Bitcoins—untraceable digital currency—worth around $150. Four days later the drugs, sent from Canada, arrived at his house.
"It kind of felt like I was in the future," Mark said.

View gallery »​

Silk Road, a digital black market that sits just below most internet users' purview, does resemble something from a cyberpunk novel. Through a combination of anonymity technology and a sophisticated user-feedback system, Silk Road makes buying and selling illegal drugs as easy as buying used electronics—and seemingly as safe. It's Amazon—if Amazon sold mind-altering chemicals.
Here is just a small selection of the 340 items available for purchase on Silk Road by anyone, right now: a gram of Afghani hash; 1/8th ounce of "sour 13" weed; 14 grams of ecstasy; .1 grams tar heroin. A listing for "Avatar" LSD includes a picture of blotter paper with big blue faces from the James Cameron movie on it. The sellers are located all over the world, a large portion from the U.S. and Canada.
But even Silk Road has limits: You won't find any weapons-grade plutonium, for example. Its terms of service ban the sale of "anything who's purpose is to harm or defraud, such as stolen credit cards, assassinations, and weapons of mass destruction."
"
Silk Road (marketplace) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Ya....excuses to ban/control bitcoin to "protect us" in 3....2.....

 

My bitcoin wallet is getting a bit too big for my liking

 

you can send me some then.
1EcrKmsC7ioE8aMgnLFTBVdekW8ZAbYffK

 

Digital panhandling?
Shame!
merry xmas - Jesus was born in Sept and Santa is a lie.

 

I was just trying to help you split up that large load of BitCoins. Make it easier for you to carry.

 

Coal being air dropped in 10, 9, 8....

 

Coal? Excellent, More preps!

 

Yes, mixed with reindeer poop, and delivered from near earth orbit...

 

It'll still produce BTU's. All that matters.