Confiscating gold vs confiscating bitcoin

MysteryMiner

legendary

Activity: 1512

Merit: 1049

Death to enemies!

Quote from: niko on March 25, 2013, 10:11:18 PM

20th century thinking is not appropriate today. Government, or a powerful corporation, does not have to search your home to find wallet.dat or paper wallet or even your brain. They need to watch network traffic, searching for the particular spend they are after.

This is why Tor works also with Bitcoin.

Gold is much harder to hide, it cannot be encrypted to appear indistinguishable from poo. Bitcoin data can be encrypted to be indistinguishable from random data using full disc encryption. Hidden bitcoins can be more easily hidden with smaller footprint, like microSD card vs gold bar. And both gold and Bitcoin can be hidden in remote locations in woods.

Gold have pros that it will retain value even after unlikely event when electricity and internet disappear worldwide.

MoonShadow

legendary

Activity: 1708

Merit: 1010

Quote from: Littleshop on March 25, 2013, 10:09:28 PM

Quote from: MoonShadow on March 25, 2013, 09:59:16 PM

Quote from: Littleshop on March 25, 2013, 09:51:06 PM

Quote from: Bowjob on March 25, 2013, 09:39:28 PM

"They first have to find the gold. If they confiscate bitcoins all they have to do is take over computers. If they are to confiscate gold, they have to search each individuals homes. Mush harder (Especially if you do not keep your metals at home ) Wink

"

According to a gold bug.. Wow.

I think both are on the same level, both basically require the government to search homes. Both have countermeasures (like Casascius coins and hiding gold). Neither is likely in the USA.

No, not the same at all. It's easy enough to prove that gold exists, if you can find it. You can't prove that I have any bitcoins at all, even if you have a copy of my wallet.dat. Because it's encrypted also. You have to have me and access to my computer. If you have me, then it doesn't much matter because you can use rubber hose crytography. But if I have gold in my safety deposit box, I may be able to evade capture but not if I return for my gold. With bitcoins and an Electrum neumonic wallet, I could flee to just about anywhere and recover my bitcoins using a borrowed laptop if I must.

If I have your wallet.dat I know how many coins you have. I just can not spend them.

Can you prove that's my only wallet?

niko

hero member

Activity: 756

Merit: 501

There is more to Bitcoin than bitcoins.

20th century thinking is not appropriate today. Government, or a powerful corporation, does not have to search your home to find wallet.dat or paper wallet or even your brain. They need to watch network traffic, searching for the particular spend they are after.

Littleshop

legendary

Activity: 1386

Merit: 1004

Quote from: MoonShadow on March 25, 2013, 09:59:16 PM

Quote from: Littleshop on March 25, 2013, 09:51:06 PM

Quote from: Bowjob on March 25, 2013, 09:39:28 PM

"They first have to find the gold. If they confiscate bitcoins all they have to do is take over computers. If they are to confiscate gold, they have to search each individuals homes. Mush harder (Especially if you do not keep your metals at home ) Wink

"

According to a gold bug.. Wow.

I think both are on the same level, both basically require the government to search homes. Both have countermeasures (like Casascius coins and hiding gold). Neither is likely in the USA.

No, not the same at all. It's easy enough to prove that gold exists, if you can find it. You can't prove that I have any bitcoins at all, even if you have a copy of my wallet.dat. Because it's encrypted also. You have to have me and access to my computer. If you have me, then it doesn't much matter because you can use rubber hose crytography. But if I have gold in my safety deposit box, I may be able to evade capture but not if I return for my gold. With bitcoins and an Electrum neumonic wallet, I could flee to just about anywhere and recover my bitcoins using a borrowed laptop if I must.

If I have your wallet.dat I know how many coins you have. I just can not spend them.

MoonShadow

legendary

Activity: 1708

Merit: 1010

Quote from: Littleshop on March 25, 2013, 09:51:06 PM

Quote from: Bowjob on March 25, 2013, 09:39:28 PM

"They first have to find the gold. If they confiscate bitcoins all they have to do is take over computers. If they are to confiscate gold, they have to search each individuals homes. Mush harder (Especially if you do not keep your metals at home ) Wink

"

According to a gold bug.. Wow.

I think both are on the same level, both basically require the government to search homes. Both have countermeasures (like Casascius coins and hiding gold). Neither is likely in the USA.

No, not the same at all. It's easy enough to prove that gold exists, if you can find it. You can't prove that I have any bitcoins at all, even if you have a copy of my wallet.dat. Because it's encrypted also. You have to have me and access to my computer. If you have me, then it doesn't much matter because you can use rubber hose crytography. But if I have gold in my safety deposit box, I may be able to evade capture but not if I return for my gold. With bitcoins and an Electrum neumonic wallet, I could flee to just about anywhere and recover my bitcoins using a borrowed laptop if I must.

Bowjob

sr. member

Activity: 294

Merit: 250

Quote from: Littleshop on March 25, 2013, 09:51:06 PM

Quote from: Bowjob on March 25, 2013, 09:39:28 PM

"They first have to find the gold. If they confiscate bitcoins all they have to do is take over computers. If they are to confiscate gold, they have to search each individuals homes. Mush harder (Especially if you do not keep your metals at home ) Wink

"

According to a gold bug.. Wow.

I think both are on the same level, both basically require the government to search homes. Both have countermeasures (like Casascius coins and hiding gold). Neither is likely in the USA.

Not really. If my harddrive fails utterly, and my backups too, I can recover those coins pretty easily.

paraipan

legendary

Activity: 924

Merit: 1004

Firstbits: 1pirata

Quote from: John (John K.) on March 25, 2013, 09:46:53 PM

Tell him they'll have to confiscate my brains for my coins.

Nooo, what have you done!

Littleshop

legendary

Activity: 1386

Merit: 1004

Quote from: Bowjob on March 25, 2013, 09:39:28 PM

"They first have to find the gold. If they confiscate bitcoins all they have to do is take over computers. If they are to confiscate gold, they have to search each individuals homes. Mush harder (Especially if you do not keep your metals at home ) Wink

"

According to a gold bug.. Wow.

I think both are on the same level, both basically require the government to search homes. Both have countermeasures (like Casascius coins and hiding gold). Neither is likely in the USA.

casascius

vip

Activity: 1386

Merit: 1140

The Casascius 1oz 10BTC Silver Round (w/ Gold B)

Tell them you committed something that may have been a crime, and used a statement confessing it as a brainwallet. Plead the 5th.

BTC -> sha256("I sped")

John (John K.)

legendary

Activity: 1288

Merit: 1227

Away on an extended break

Tell him they'll have to confiscate my brains for my coins.

Bowjob

sr. member

Activity: 294

Merit: 250

"They first have to find the gold. If they confiscate bitcoins all they have to do is take over computers. If they are to confiscate gold, they have to search each individuals homes. Mush harder (Especially if you do not keep your metals at home ) Wink

"

According to a gold bug.. Wow.

Topic: Confiscating gold vs confiscating bitcoin (Read 758 times)