Topic: Why do people fear regulation so much? - page 3. (Read 3121 times)

I understand where you're coming from and I definitely agree about the idea of pharmaceutical companies and food companies selling me something poisonous or worse, in fact I wish government would focus on basic things like this instead of trying to judge every facet of our lives like they currently do now. I think the reason a lot of people are, I wouldn't say afraid, but extremely sceptical and hateful of government regulation is because the regulators we have just aren't bloody trustworthy.

For an example do you remember when the senate Bitcoin hearings began awhile back? In order to 'fact find' about the currency the first thing the committee did was bring in what must have been two crime based government agencies, a child protection charity and from what I can see maybe one or two people who were actual experts on the subject. This is the kind of shit we're going to be put through all the time if the community actively goes along with the U.S regulations.

it's like a bunch of U.S Ambassadors being assigned to countries they've never actually been to and yes this is actually true.


I agree with most of these points except for 3, I suspect when they introduce regulation as they have done that's when everybody who understands the currency dumps the country

Because most of the time it has an negative impact on us.

The first three things that popped into my head about why regulation is pointless.  There would be more if I could be bothered.

1)  Bitcoin is international and you'll never get every country to agree on how to regulate them.
2)  Regulation would not have prevented gox's poor programming and non-existent customer service.
3)  The second you introduce regulation is the second everyone who understands the currency properly dumps it.

I want some regulation... this shouldn't be the wild wild west where hackers and scammers roam free. Right now that's how it is and you have to be extremely careful in securing your money, which is one of the problems that needs to be overcome for mass adoption. There should be some protection, without the kind of deception, bureaucracy and control we get form banks.

the problem with regulation it is not here to protect us 

simple example

exchange cash for btc at a physical location in any quantity (a process that would almost annihilate the need for exchanges)

a) good regulation: makes sure no one gets mugged, cash is checked for counterfeit

b) bad regulation: outlaws this via AML and KYC in the first place, enforces a horrible bureaucracy, plus taxes. in many countries even the withdrawal or deposit of cash from your own bank account is severely restricted!

that is why people fear regulation, for the same reason they fear bacteria, because most of them make you ill

Basically because revolution always comes from below. Anything applied to it from above can only weaken it.

One of the major problems with regulations would be the state and government licenses.   The exchanges, or business may be forced to be licensed in each state or country that a person is trying to purchase bitcoins from.  Not to mention that you may need to register with all appropriate forms of ID, any place that you purchase or store bitcoins.  Major un-needed headache

The problem I have with it is that regulation by the government would in itself not bother me.

But the fact is, the banking industries (wealth management companies etc etc, all the same 2/3 companies in reality) have effectively taken over public government's policy making ability.  This is most notorious in the United States (which sets most of the world's financial policies) where Goldman Sachs employees basically set economic policy.

In contemporary times much economic policy is not set by government to benefit citizenry, but instead, to enlarge the power of the banks.

So where does that leave us? The banking industry is against bitcoin naturally, because it is the first and only realistic hope people have escaping out of their greedy fingers in your pocket.  So it goes to figure that most regulation made will just in a effect be a penalty against bitcoin primarily before anything else.

We don't ever want to get the place where we are with fiat, where companies are leveraged 100x+ to 1 for every dollar they have, take massive systemic risks on the regular to increase quarterly profits, charge you exorbitant fees to take out your own money, are able to freeze you out of you the monetary system if you have a non-corporate opinion or tell the truth (ie wikileaks), have the power to repeal saftey guards in the economy that prevent Great Collapse ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Legislation ) , print money magically from nothing, controlled by a private company run by a handful of people profiting 6% for every dollar they create ( google federal reserve 6% dividend) ,  and so powerful that they even if they fail they can be bailed out by taxpayer debt when they fail.

The banking industry heads have more say on policy making than most elected officials -- it's a bad situation, bitcoin is the only hope that I see, and does not need regulation to prosper (just look at its history already).

Regulation = control

Control = limiting others' power to increase your own

http://prof77.wordpress.com/politics/an-updated-list-of-goldman-sachs-ties-to-the-obama-government-including-elena-kagan/

Because BitCoin is a decentralized currency. It was created as one, meant to be one, and will end up as one.
If it is centralized, it means 100% hashrate is controlled by someone. They can then do what they like and launch a 51% attack and destroy bitcoin. And the governments can force us to use pieces of paper again.

(I know I'll be saying things that will some people will strongly dissagree. But I'm trying to have an intelligent conversation)

Don't get me wrong: any overly restrictive regulation; outlawing bitcoins, etc... would of course be bad.

What I don't get is that some people seem to fear ANY form of regulation whereas reasonable and balanced regulation can, on the contrary, help an industry strive.

The fact that food additive and pharmaeutical is regulated is good: I can trust that they are safe and won't poison me.

Net neutrality laws, benefit Internet and benefit the end user, even if telecoms don't like them.

In the same fashion, imagine that law required that bitcoin exchanges are required to publish an audit every quarter. The Mt.Gox fiasco would have never happened.

In any case, if we ever hope that bitcoin be used as commonplace currency, it should be treated as such. Which means the same taxes, regulation, etc... You may dissagree with those laws, but it is another debate; how much must the governement tax and regulate money. But I think that somebody that really hopes for Bitcoin becoming mainstream, should rejoince at any reasonable regulation that consider bitcoin on an equal footing with regular money.