BitCoin and International Crime

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-bitcoin-20131125,0,3265347.story

by canweriotnow • 13 years ago

14 14 13 years ago

Submitter here - I hate, hate, hate this post. It is the worst FUD I have seen in some time, and I'm only posting b/c I think it needs the full HN lens. Please don't think I agree with a single word.

jnbiche• 13 years ago

Agreed. I'd be interested in hearing Prof. Green's rebuttal -- I'm sure he's long since thought these issues through very carefully.

One of the commenters to the article mentioned, money was never designed to be a tracking system. That "feature" has only been added over the past few decades.

And law enforcement will always be inconvenienced in a free society, the kind our founding fathers most definitely envisioned here in the U.S. (and elsewhere, I'm sure).

canweriotnow2• 13 years ago

Let's hope there is a rebuttal... his last major blog post[1] was censored by his university. In a flash of reason, the decision was reversed (woohoo academic freedom!)

In this case, since Zerocoin is actually a university-sponsored project (from the Johns Hopkins Information Securuty Institute), we can hope for a response... hopefully it will be a rebuttal from the researchers and not a kneejerk response from administrators.

Even beyond its obvious utility (for good or ill), zerocoin is a fascinating problem in cryptographic research, and we should be grateful it's occuring in the light of day and not as some super-secret project.

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/10/nsa-mat...

chiph• 13 years ago

This sort of article appears with each new technological invention. Go ahead and re-read it, replacing "Bitcoin" with "Motorcar".

pilker09• 13 years ago

"Horseless carriages will make men bankrobbers and women immoral!"

-Buggy Whip Manufacturers Association, circa 1890's

a3voices• 13 years ago

Bitcoins don't kill people, people kill people.

mdelias• 13 years ago

Rhinos don't poach Rhinos, Bitcoins poach Rhinos

mschuster91• 13 years ago

As if rhino poachers would ever use bitcoin, lol. After all, the money has to enter and exit the BTC world (e.g. at places like MtGox), where it can and will be recorded.

Far too risky for poachers and large-scale criminals.

lukeqsee• 13 years ago

"Stop Bitcoin. Save the children (and rhinos, too, while you're at it)!"

When will we learn that money and systems (especially X new technology) aren't the issue (or the solution)? People are both. Until society admits both its faults and its failed solutions, it probably will be plagued with deplorable crimes such as those facilitated by Bitcoin (and USD and CAD and CHF, for that matter).

mgback• 13 years ago

Here is the real crime... It is a currency that no government can manipulate or control. Bitcoin with tumblers is "true" economic freedom from any beaurocratic or government control. You get the bad... But you also get the infinite good of not having any government able to take your wealth away from you at its whim.

jamhan2• 13 years ago

Playing the devil's advocate here:

In 30 years time, you consider retiring, and you have a significant portion of your savings in Zerocoin. Someone, somehow, manages to fraudulently acquire your Zerocoin savings, perhaps through a flaw in the Zerocoin system itself. You go to the authorities, and ask them to help you recover your stolen retirement savings. They reply, "Sorry, as you know, Zerocoin is completely anonymous. We can't help you, no-one can."

What do you do?

goldenkey• 13 years ago

You create a kickstarter called "E-Freedom" and "Digital Rights" with a picture of your child. Call it a freedom fund for his college.

rbehrends• 13 years ago

Simple: You don't invest in Bitcoin/Zerocoin in the first place.

Digital currencies are the online equivalent of cash, not of a savings account or stocks. Like regular cash, it can be stolen (e.g., by hacking into your computer) or lost (hard drive crash with an outdated backup), and thus, you shouldn't have more on hand than you can afford to lose.

Different rules apply to speculators, of course, but you are talking about retirement savings. Putting your retirement savings in a Bitcoin wallet is about the same as having a pile of cash under your mattress.

jamhan2• 13 years ago

That much is already clear. I'm more interested in comments from those who appear to think Bitcoin/Zerocoin is an "infinite good": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6806395

BitCoin and International Crime

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