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Topic: Is Bitcoin the New Swiss Bank Account (And Is That a Problem?) (Read 1242 times)

legendary
Activity: 1204
Merit: 1028
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/is-bitcoin-the-new-swiss-bank-account-and-is-that-a-problem-cm597377

Quote
Last week, President Barack Obama said he believes a balance must be sought between privacy and security. As one example of the risks of strong encryption, and seemingly referring to cryptocurrencies, Obama pointed out that if government can't access phones, "everybody is walking around with a Swiss bank account in their pocket."

...Several Bitcoin wallet apps currently offer "zero knowledge security" which ensures user data by generating private keys completely client side.

But what happens if Pandora's Box is opened? What if encryption is weakened or even broken by state agencies?

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, sees trying to break the encryption protecting one phone as having "extremely damaging implications" for the rights of many millions of people worldwide, with possible effects on their physical and financial security.

Obama, meanwhile, seemed to suggest that this kind of financial security should in fact not be absolute. He believes a balance must be struck, suggesting encryption should be weakened to allow government agencies access to encrypted phones in certain cases.

I also agree with that phenomena that bitcoin is a swiss bank accounts in our pockets, as it happens only in the Swiss banks accounts and in bitcoin that the data about from where the money has gained is not required .
member
Activity: 84
Merit: 10
Obama is all about stripping rights under the guise of protectionism. This angle he is currently playing out is to get their hooks preset instead of having to put them in afterwards. If encryption does become a issue we will create something new that stifles the issue temporarily.
It will just become a ongoing cycle and that will be the end result,change or die.

Letting government dictate any privacy you are allowed online is like bending over and asking for another.
legendary
Activity: 2662
Merit: 2203
BitcoinPenny.com
legendary
Activity: 1260
Merit: 1008
... and, yah know, bitcoin is completely traceable and linkable... so I'd prefer a swiss bank account (or any regular bank) over bitcoin if my concern was privacy.
legendary
Activity: 2842
Merit: 1152
Well the government (in particular the US gov) has a tendency to poke its nose into everyone's private matters  Cheesy For example they tried to force Apple to decrypt the contents of their phones so the state officials could use the harvested data as evidence in prosecutions but Apple stuck it to them in the end.

they are all gonna fold sooner or later. this is just for the public, the US government is going to force them to release that information to them eventually.
Yes, the government of USA can do that and they will do that, they will encrypt the data of all the users as it is not hard for them to persuade USA, but currently they do not because the importance may not be that much to them right now.
legendary
Activity: 2282
Merit: 1023
Problem? Nope. Because everyone can have a Swiss Bank account in their pocket, not just Barry and his pals. Literally everyone (minimum brain activity required, of course)

I think the only problem is that the "money" aka bitcoin, is not accepted by many... Hopeful this will gradually change...
legendary
Activity: 3430
Merit: 3071
Problem? Nope. Because everyone can have a Swiss Bank account in their pocket, not just Barry and his pals. Literally everyone (minimum brain activity required, of course)
hero member
Activity: 2492
Merit: 548
8ombard - Pick, Play, Prosper!
Swiss Bank is known for keeping a lot of illegal money there because of their secrecy law. If you safe a lot of money there, you'll get a lot of suspicion.

Bitcoin isn't as famous as Swiss Bank in secrecy. Bitcoin maybe will be used as the new Swiss Bank Account because of bitcoin's anonymity.

Swiss has the same banking system with a small variation in the regulation and accessibility. Now when we talk of bitcoin it's totally different. It has got a anonymous nature on transaction but if a particular person's bitcoin address is known anyone can find the particular person's balance.
full member
Activity: 224
Merit: 100
Swiss Bank is known for keeping a lot of illegal money there because of their secrecy law. If you safe a lot of money there, you'll get a lot of suspicion.

Bitcoin isn't as famous as Swiss Bank in secrecy. Bitcoin maybe will be used as the new Swiss Bank Account because of bitcoin's anonymity.
member
Activity: 70
Merit: 10
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/is-bitcoin-the-new-swiss-bank-account-and-is-that-a-problem-cm597377

Quote
Last week, President Barack Obama said he believes a balance must be sought between privacy and security. As one example of the risks of strong encryption, and seemingly referring to cryptocurrencies, Obama pointed out that if government can't access phones, "everybody is walking around with a Swiss bank account in their pocket."

...Several Bitcoin wallet apps currently offer "zero knowledge security" which ensures user data by generating private keys completely client side.

But what happens if Pandora's Box is opened? What if encryption is weakened or even broken by state agencies?

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, sees trying to break the encryption protecting one phone as having "extremely damaging implications" for the rights of many millions of people worldwide, with possible effects on their physical and financial security.

Obama, meanwhile, seemed to suggest that this kind of financial security should in fact not be absolute. He believes a balance must be struck, suggesting encryption should be weakened to allow government agencies access to encrypted phones in certain cases.



Simply, yes. Bitcoin is Swiss banking 2.0, but without the bankers Wink
legendary
Activity: 1358
Merit: 1014
Really? I don't think BTC, nor the blockchain is as safe as gold bars or a thick stack of banknotes inside a money box in an underground bank vault in Geneva. It's true you can hide some money from governments with BTC, but I believe Swiss banks are better. Unfortunately, Americans don't have this choice anymore.

It has become next to impossible for an American to open a bank account in Switzerland, but this doesn't show that Swiss banks are bad, or inferior to BTC, it just tells the world that the US government is a BIG BROTHER government which wants to have full control of what its citizens are doing with their money.

Bitcoin is safer. You are trusting some underground bank in Gevena not stealing your coins... now if you have your private addresses offline and stored in a couple safe places under heavy encryption, that's safer. And you can always recover the funds anywhere in the world by generating a seed.
Gold is too annoying and you can't do anything with it. It doesn't feel close to you, unless you guard it yourself, in this case Bitcoin is already safer since you can't encrypt gold, only put it in some safe.
Then, have fun trying to move around carrying gold without getting detected by authorities. Let's not forget American government has passed laws to steal gold from people before.
legendary
Activity: 1134
Merit: 1010
BTC to the moon is inevitable...
Well the government (in particular the US gov) has a tendency to poke its nose into everyone's private matters  Cheesy For example they tried to force Apple to decrypt the contents of their phones so the state officials could use the harvested data as evidence in prosecutions but Apple stuck it to them in the end.

they are all gonna fold sooner or later. this is just for the public, the US government is going to force them to release that information to them eventually.
sr. member
Activity: 350
Merit: 250
Shit, did I leave the stove on?
Well the government (in particular the US gov) has a tendency to poke its nose into everyone's private matters  Cheesy For example they tried to force Apple to decrypt the contents of their phones so the state officials could use the harvested data as evidence in prosecutions but Apple stuck it to them in the end.
legendary
Activity: 1946
Merit: 1007
The thing is that ultimately the coins will be tracable to your personal accounts as it is an open ledger. As soon as you move them to fiat, you are linked to them. So the only way it would act like a swiss bank account would be to always use bitcoin to pay and never use adresses more than once. At the current time such things are not a viable option anyway, but they may be in the future.

I would not advise to start doing it this way though. It would be better to pay your taxes (which are minimal anyway, much less than tax on wages at least!) so you can use it freely.
legendary
Activity: 3164
Merit: 1213
One who can't have a Swiss account can own a bitcoin wallet. This bitcoin wallet can be considered as a Swiss account as it has same features of Swiss account.
newbie
Activity: 17
Merit: 0
Government has no place in Bitcoin, and people would stop using it if they did decide to snoop around and change things. The idea of a backdoor in encryption is pretty stupid, everyone pretty much agrees with that by now. I'd be suspicious of any new encryption algorithms that come out from past now.
legendary
Activity: 3038
Merit: 1047
Your country may be your worst enemy
Really? I don't think BTC, nor the blockchain is as safe as gold bars or a thick stack of banknotes inside a money box in an underground bank vault in Geneva. It's true you can hide some money from governments with BTC, but I believe Swiss banks are better. Unfortunately, Americans don't have this choice anymore.

It has become next to impossible for an American to open a bank account in Switzerland, but this doesn't show that Swiss banks are bad, or inferior to BTC, it just tells the world that the US government is a BIG BROTHER government which wants to have full control of what its citizens are doing with their money.
hero member
Activity: 1092
Merit: 520
The "swiss bank in your pocket" was definitely a reference to bitcoin. What else could it be?

I agree, Obama like the rest of our politicians is in the pocket of the Banksters, so what if people want to keep their money in their own bank where it is safe and secure and immune to devaluation because of government counterfeiting........ Take back control
member
Activity: 98
Merit: 10
★YoBit.Net★ 350+ Coins Exchange & Dice
I think as a good law abiding citizens,we all should co-operate our government in what they think 'good for our national interest'.Even if it involves bitcoin and individuals secrecy is not more important than overall security of entire community or nation

You take the stance that what ever the government says is good for me?
Quite often the tactic of stripping people of their rights is done with the majority of the people saying that is fine,only to turn around years
later to realize the extent the rights protected them. Be careful how trusting you are of the government,they are there for you like the police,till one day they are not. Its better to question why then presume everything is just going to work out. Least its a difference in opinion and I love hearing how people with your thought process come to this thinking. Not a put down,I just am so much the other way,that I can not relate.
legendary
Activity: 854
Merit: 1000
I think as a good law abiding citizens,we all should co-operate our government in what they think 'good for our national interest'.Even if it involves bitcoin and individuals secrecy is not more important than overall security of entire community or nation
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