Interesting, writing down the "unwritten rules" of free market.
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Topic: Regulatory Proposal for Bitcoin - page 2. (Read 2551 times)
Gotcha! 
No, I'm not proposing we have "regulations" over the Bitcoin economy in the manner that the US economy is "regulated" by the government and pseudo-government agencies. The beautiful thing about Bitcoin is that it is a free market. A free market it must remain. But all regulation is not inherently evil. The type of self-regulation that takes place in a free market system is actually a good thing. Imagine if Burger King started putting radioactive waste into hamburger patties... if McDonalds were to find out about that they would bring it to the attention of the public and the government, for both ethical and financial reasons. That is a contrived/silly example, but you get the point... As the Bitcoin economy continues to grow and flourish I believe it is important for all market participants to work together to self-regulate our market, in true free market fashion. This means a few things. Here are some of the things I think are the important, and I welcome you to propose your own or criticize my ideas:
1) Love thy neighbor's wallet as thine own!
For starters, we should all have the "neighborhood watch mentality". Watch out for your fellow Bitcoin users, and they will watch out for you. If you notice a security vulnerability, notify the people it concerns (those at risk -- usually not good to announce it publicly lol). If you see someone walking into a trap with a shady character, warn them. If you are the victim of a fraud, report it and give the community all the details. There are no "Bitcoin police" -- there is only us! You are your own best defense against fraud, theft and hacking -- look out for your neighbors, whether you like them personally or not, and they will look out for you. If we work together as a community we can make Bitcoin commerce a LOT safer as a team.
2) BBBB (Better Bitcoin Business Bureau)
The Bitcoin community needs people to start private agencies which allow consumers to give feedback on businesses (and even individuals) they deal with. But unlike the BBB, we need a much more honest approach. Companies should NOT be allowed to pay to have their enterprise listed with positive feedback/ratings -- this defeats the whole purpose of the system. Instead, it needs to be a legitimate system based purely on user feedback where revenues are raised through advertising and other means. A good feedback agency with comprehensive coverage of the Bit-conomy could make a fortune in advertising revenues alone.
3) Watchdog Groups
The Bit-conomy also needs so-called "watchdog groups". These would be private groups with the sole mission to monitor the conduct of businesses and individuals in Bitcoin commerce. Their job would be to sniff out frauds, scams and con artists and look out for unethical, immoral and/or harmful business practices. When any such malicious behavior is spotted, watchdogs would report their findings (along with the hard evidence they've gathered) to the community and media. Such organizations can raise money through donations, advertising and other honest venues.
4) Business Regulatory Codes
In addition to the aforementioned consumer safe-guards, members of the Bitcoin community should work together to create sets of regulatory code for Bitcoin businesses. Since it is a free market we cannot force people to follow these so-called "regulations" and "codes". But what we CAN do is reward the companies who DO. The carrot > the stick... If we provide incentive for ethical business practices and good conduct we make the Bit-conomy safer and more stable. One very basic way of doing this is by providing community-based "seals of approval" or "licenses" for businesses and individuals who stick to "the code" and do things right. Consumers will take notice and opt for businesses who are doing the right thing, and those businesses will be rewarded with more profit.
5) The Spirit of Free Enterprise
The final (and perhaps most important) thing to take away from this is that all of us are members of a brand-new, digital, free market economy; and we should retain our spirit of free enterprise and entrepreneurship! We are part of something great and awe-inspiring which people 1000 years from now will read about in the history books. Bitcoin will change the world forever. We have the unprecedented opportunity to build the economy and monetary system of the future without molestation from government, and we must keep that in mind at all times. Bitcoin is still small, and even those of us who are just showing up are "early adopters"; and we should all be grateful for this opportunity. The decisions we make and actions we take will determine the future of Bitcoin. If you screw people over and do bad business it will discourage people from joining the Bit-conomy. But if we do good business and treat each other fairly the Bitcoin market can boom and we will all have the opportunity to become rich! No, we won't all become rich... but everyone has the opportunity -- so let's not blow it!
Regards,
--ATC--
No, I'm not proposing we have "regulations" over the Bitcoin economy in the manner that the US economy is "regulated" by the government and pseudo-government agencies. The beautiful thing about Bitcoin is that it is a free market. A free market it must remain. But all regulation is not inherently evil. The type of self-regulation that takes place in a free market system is actually a good thing. Imagine if Burger King started putting radioactive waste into hamburger patties... if McDonalds were to find out about that they would bring it to the attention of the public and the government, for both ethical and financial reasons. That is a contrived/silly example, but you get the point... As the Bitcoin economy continues to grow and flourish I believe it is important for all market participants to work together to self-regulate our market, in true free market fashion. This means a few things. Here are some of the things I think are the important, and I welcome you to propose your own or criticize my ideas:
1) Love thy neighbor's wallet as thine own!
For starters, we should all have the "neighborhood watch mentality". Watch out for your fellow Bitcoin users, and they will watch out for you. If you notice a security vulnerability, notify the people it concerns (those at risk -- usually not good to announce it publicly lol). If you see someone walking into a trap with a shady character, warn them. If you are the victim of a fraud, report it and give the community all the details. There are no "Bitcoin police" -- there is only us! You are your own best defense against fraud, theft and hacking -- look out for your neighbors, whether you like them personally or not, and they will look out for you. If we work together as a community we can make Bitcoin commerce a LOT safer as a team.
2) BBBB (Better Bitcoin Business Bureau)
The Bitcoin community needs people to start private agencies which allow consumers to give feedback on businesses (and even individuals) they deal with. But unlike the BBB, we need a much more honest approach. Companies should NOT be allowed to pay to have their enterprise listed with positive feedback/ratings -- this defeats the whole purpose of the system. Instead, it needs to be a legitimate system based purely on user feedback where revenues are raised through advertising and other means. A good feedback agency with comprehensive coverage of the Bit-conomy could make a fortune in advertising revenues alone.
3) Watchdog Groups
The Bit-conomy also needs so-called "watchdog groups". These would be private groups with the sole mission to monitor the conduct of businesses and individuals in Bitcoin commerce. Their job would be to sniff out frauds, scams and con artists and look out for unethical, immoral and/or harmful business practices. When any such malicious behavior is spotted, watchdogs would report their findings (along with the hard evidence they've gathered) to the community and media. Such organizations can raise money through donations, advertising and other honest venues.
4) Business Regulatory Codes
In addition to the aforementioned consumer safe-guards, members of the Bitcoin community should work together to create sets of regulatory code for Bitcoin businesses. Since it is a free market we cannot force people to follow these so-called "regulations" and "codes". But what we CAN do is reward the companies who DO. The carrot > the stick... If we provide incentive for ethical business practices and good conduct we make the Bit-conomy safer and more stable. One very basic way of doing this is by providing community-based "seals of approval" or "licenses" for businesses and individuals who stick to "the code" and do things right. Consumers will take notice and opt for businesses who are doing the right thing, and those businesses will be rewarded with more profit.
5) The Spirit of Free Enterprise
The final (and perhaps most important) thing to take away from this is that all of us are members of a brand-new, digital, free market economy; and we should retain our spirit of free enterprise and entrepreneurship! We are part of something great and awe-inspiring which people 1000 years from now will read about in the history books. Bitcoin will change the world forever. We have the unprecedented opportunity to build the economy and monetary system of the future without molestation from government, and we must keep that in mind at all times. Bitcoin is still small, and even those of us who are just showing up are "early adopters"; and we should all be grateful for this opportunity. The decisions we make and actions we take will determine the future of Bitcoin. If you screw people over and do bad business it will discourage people from joining the Bit-conomy. But if we do good business and treat each other fairly the Bitcoin market can boom and we will all have the opportunity to become rich! No, we won't all become rich... but everyone has the opportunity -- so let's not blow it!
Regards,
--ATC--
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