Politicians forking the block chain - page 2.

Cryptoman

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Quote from: mobile4ever on June 23, 2012, 12:01:35 PM

I can imagine Castro making up some crazy rule and trying to kill those who break it. Liberty is a powerful thing and the wrong people do not like it.

I can imagine the U.S. Congress passing a stupid law and trying to kill (or at least imprison) those who break it. Liberty is a powerful thing, and U.S. politicians do not like it being in the hands of the people.

Explodicle

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Assuming it works and people actually run the fork, then it would be incredibly easy to exchange Statecoins for Bitcoins online. The exchange is our biggest weak point, so as long as a decentralized irreversible system exists, we benefit.

unclescrooge

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The politicans decisions apply only to those who obey them

And the bitcoin economy that is currently emerging is an economy where politicians and governments and their corporate allies have not role to play.

EDIT: All the wonderful tools that emerge nowadays thanks to internet are tools that allow people to organize themselves without the State. So yes, expect the State to fight back. But its fight is doomed to fail.

Spekulatius

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Bitcoin would not have to fork for its users to become subject of heavy law enforcement. I imagine it much like the current situation where currency transactions of any kind are already regulated and enforced, even face to face transactions are subject to law enforcement once they reach a significant amount. So, if any gov decides to monitor bitcoin transactions, all they have to do is to make identification and use of traceable addresses compulsory for the users in their jurisdiction.

edd

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No government can simply decide to insert its own rules or restrictions into Bitcoin as it exists today and a fork different enough to allow it would be almost unrecognizable as related to the original client. It would be much easier for them to simply follow Canada's example and issue their own digital currency and then outlaw the use of Bitcoin. This wouldn't necessarily cause it to "fall out of favor" but would force legitimate businesses already accepting it to decide whether or not they wanted to fight or flaunt the applicable laws. If anything, I think this would increase Bitcoin's appeal as an underdog/Robin Hood player although one would have to use more discretion with transactions.

mobile4ever

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Quote from: bitplane on June 23, 2012, 11:24:54 AM

Merchants and traders would have to adhere to the new rules,

Well, that is just it. People who use BTC do not have to adhere to the rules. The money is not the property of the politicians, it belongs to those who use it.

If you live in a communist country it could become a problem, though. I can imagine Castro making up some crazy rule and trying to kill those who break it. Liberty is a powerful thing and the wrong people do not like it.

Phinnaeus Gage

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Bitcoin: An Idea Worth Spending

Quote from: bitplane on June 23, 2012, 11:24:54 AM

Let's assume that Bitcoin catches on in the future and is used for all kinds of online payments by a huge number of legitimate businesses. What happens when a large political power, like the USA or EU, decides to regulate Bitcoin within their borders by regulating the rules used by clients?

Merchants and traders would have to adhere to the new rules, which I'm guessing would make Bitcoin fall out of favour or fork the block chain dividing the currency into regional networks. At this point we'd have lots of local currencies depending on regulations enforced by local government.

Anyone care to speculate on what would happen in this case, or why it won't/can't happen?

Watching!

I love the way you posed your question(s), bitplane.

~Bruno~

bitplane

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Firstbits: 1gyzhw

Let's assume that Bitcoin catches on in the future and is used for all kinds of online payments by a huge number of legitimate businesses. What happens when a large political power, like the USA or EU, decides to regulate Bitcoin within their borders by regulating the rules used by clients?

Merchants and traders would have to adhere to the new rules, which I'm guessing would make Bitcoin fall out of favour or fork the block chain dividing the currency into regional networks. At this point we'd have lots of local currencies depending on regulations enforced by local government.

Anyone care to speculate on what would happen in this case, or why it won't/can't happen?

Topic: Politicians forking the block chain - page 2. (Read 2715 times)