My preferences are not important. The point is that a system that does not allow the forcible return of stolen property will not be acceptable to society, except for thieves and other criminals. In the end, it will be rejected even by the libertarians who now think that irreversibility is a good thing.
Forcing the return of stolen bitcoin is no more or less difficult than forcing the return of any other stolen good. Why would you think otherwise? The only reason I can see why you would think otherwise is that you are identifying banks as the only actors worthy of recognition.
Sigh. Dear @aminorex and others, please note that
my opinion is not important for this issue. Neither is your opinion, or that of anyone in this thread. What matters is the opinion of the other 7 billion people on Earth, and especially of some of them:
"Dear Government of the United States of America,
We respectfully ask Your permission to market a Bitcoin-based ETF to Your esteemed Citizens through exchanges operating under Your jurisdiction. We also respectfully request that You enact just the right level of regulation of the Bitcoin economy to enhance public confidence without hampering the viability of this and other Bitcoin-based ventures in Your territory.
Your cooperation in these matters will be essential for the widespread adoption of Bitcoin, which, as You know, was ingeniously designed with the express purpose of enabling American and foreign citizens to freely move arbitrary amounts of money across Your borders, without Your knowledge and beyond Your control; and also to safely store and transfer the financial resources of enemies of Your Country, as well as the profits from thefts or any other activity that is illicit under Your Laws (including tax evasion), committed by or against Your Citizens and Corporations, in such a way that neither your Law Enforcement Agencies, nor any international agency, will be able to block them, seize them, or return them to their rightful owners.
We are confident that You will understand the importance of our project, and hope that You will help us make our dreams come true.
Sincerely,
-- We The Bitcoiners --
Can you see now why I think that irreversibility is going to be a problem
for bitcoin -- not
for me?
PS. As for all the others who insist on discussing ME instead of bitcoin (and post 10 replies for each post of mine, with nothing but comments about ME, and then blame ME for it): I am sorry to break your hearts folks, but I am already married.