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Way too many false positives. There are a ton of grid computing tasks that are even more energy dependent than mining coins.
It would be a starting point. They do this all the time with people who grow marijuana.
I could see the false positives being tough to get around in commercial areas, but not residential. It would definitely be the starting point at which they would look into potential suspects.
Either way, Sams attack on alternative currency should really not go trivialized by anybody. It's going to get uglier. The General public understand so much more about the mechanisms of money now then they did even 20 years ago.
It would be a starting point. They do this all the time with people who grow marijuana.
I could see the false positives being tough to get around in commercial areas, but not residential. It would definitely be the starting point at which they would look into potential suspects.
Either way, Sams attack on alternative currency should really not go trivialized by anybody. It's going to get uglier. The General public understand so much more about the mechanisms of money now then they did even 20 years ago.
Distributed computing will make is process of locating people impossible. I plant my servers in commercial areas and just initiate the process from my residential address. People are quick to adapt and maybe a few people are thrown into jail for it. Of course, that won't go over so well with the media, ACLU, etc.
Question for the bitcoin haters: What will it take for Bitcoin to lose nearly all its value? We've already witness the evaporation of 2 huge exchanges and yet the currency is still worth 500 dollars per coin and going strong. Lawmakers have threatened banning and regulation, China has "soft banned" it and yet it's still super valuable.
Hasn't some big exchange declared bankruptcy due to all of their coins being stolen by hackers? Sorry if it ain't gold or backed by a sovereign I want no part of it. I'm not wealthy enough to speculate.
Hasn't some big exchange declared bankruptcy due to all of their coins being stolen by hackers? Sorry if it ain't gold or backed by a sovereign I want no part of it. I'm not wealthy enough to speculate.
My point is that it's not really altered the value that much. In a way it's a positive thing because the value is more or less stable at around $500 now and can begin a slow march upward.
Seems like government has begun to notice, and frustration is mounting from within that they nor their mighty NSA can do anything about it.
To do what you are suggesting (throwing miners into gulags) only perpetuates revolution and uprisings. This tactic works in places like the USSR when the citizens don't own guns (actually it didn't since the black market thrived there also). Doesn't work so well here.
Also, if miners begin getting tossed into jails, things will be done with more obfuscation with VPNs, proxies, and other areas of misdirection. The government is so slow moving technology-wise, it would be hopeless to try to keep up.
"Thrown into gulag" was figurative, since the United Thugocracies of America are more clever with their marketing than that. Make no mistake, if you find a way to seriously annoy the US government, which a widely accepted alt-currency that they cannot regulate or control would certainly do were it to gain notoriety and acceptance, they will grind you to a fine powder and dispose of you.
And going after people to make a point is what they do. Ask Jonathan Lebed, of high school day trader fame, and how the SEC seized $285,000 from him by simply declaring a legal activity to be illegal "in their estimation" while never actually charging him with a crime. FFS, ask Bill Gates, who was taught rather briskly why you don't dare a federal court to come after you, and why you pay your tribute/protection money promptly while showing Paulie the proper respect.
Right now, Bitcoin being in its infancy and being part of the magic realm called the Interwebz keeps it "down" enough that Paulie need not worry about his racket being muscled into. But should it gain a following, thus gain legitimacy, and a couple miners of Bitcoins and an exchange or two will land squarely in IRS/SEC/DoJ/FTC crosshairs to be made an example of...just like Jonothan Lebed, who was quite legally pulling back the curtain on the largely illusory nature of the stock market. Bitcoin threatens to do that with the very illusory nature of currency, and the currency sovereigns simply cannot have people knowing the secret behind the illusion. So right now, marginalization as some geeky weirdo club of techno libertarian millennials keeps crypto currency in the land of ridicule and silliness. Let it become serious, and Leviathan will get even more serious and begin devouring victims.
"Thrown into gulag" was figurative, since the United Thugocracies of America are more clever with their marketing than that. Make no mistake, if you find a way to seriously annoy the US government, which a widely accepted alt-currency that they cannot regulate or control would certainly do were it to gain notoriety and acceptance, they will grind you to a fine powder and dispose of you.
And going after people to make a point is what they do. Ask Jonathan Lebed, of high school day trader fame, and how the SEC seized $285,000 from him by simply declaring a legal activity to be illegal "in their estimation" while never actually charging him with a crime. FFS, ask Bill Gates, who was taught rather briskly why you don't dare a federal court to come after you, and why you pay your tribute/protection money promptly while showing Paulie the proper respect.
Right now, Bitcoin being in its infancy and being part of the magic realm called the Interwebz keeps it "down" enough that Paulie need not worry about his racket being muscled into. But should it gain a following, thus gain legitimacy, and a couple miners of Bitcoins and an exchange or two will land squarely in IRS/SEC/DoJ/FTC crosshairs to be made an example of...just like Jonothan Lebed, who was quite legally pulling back the curtain on the largely illusory nature of the stock market. Bitcoin threatens to do that with the very illusory nature of currency, and the currency sovereigns simply cannot have people knowing the secret behind the illusion. So right now, marginalization as some geeky weirdo club of techno libertarian millennials keeps crypto currency in the land of ridicule and silliness. Let it become serious, and Leviathan will get even more serious and begin devouring victims.
Bitcoin users can simply stop using exchanges and deal with each other directly. Miners will distribute and hedge on their mining, and try other tricks to avoid detection.
Bitcoin's scarcity will more than offset the hits it takes.
Bitcoin users can simply stop using exchanges and deal with each other directly. Miners will distribute and hedge on their mining, and try other tricks to avoid detection.
Bitcoin's scarcity will more than offset the hits it takes.
I agree with you on how the Bitcoin owners can keep their currency's value. I was responding to someone who asked "what would kill Bitcoin?" and the answer is "gaining enough acceptance to annoy the US government."
If the Bitcoin folks stay underground, keep quiet and don't make too much news, they'll be fine. If they get sassy and too big for their britches, they'll get crushed. Pretty simple.
I agree with you on how the Bitcoin owners can keep their currency's value. I was responding to someone who asked "what would kill Bitcoin?" and the answer is "gaining enough acceptance to annoy the US government."
If the Bitcoin folks stay underground, keep quiet and don't make too much news, they'll be fine. If they get sassy and too big for their britches, they'll get crushed. Pretty simple.
I don't think it's quite that simple anymore. Technologists are pretty principled individuals. Many don't mind losing their liberty to make their point, plus many like Snowden have kill switches in place to prevent them from losing their liberties. Plus, if the government got too sassy or big for its britches, they'd get crushed by the overwhelming support of hackers everywhere. Pretty simple.
The government must proceed very very carefully on this matter for its own sake. Jail or make too many lives' intolerable, the situation could get very dark for them.
I don't think it's quite that simple anymore. Technologists are pretty principled individuals. Many don't mind losing their liberty to make their point, plus many like Snowden have kill switches in place to prevent them from losing their liberties. Plus, if the government got too sassy or big for its britches, they'd get crushed by the overwhelming support of hackers everywhere. Pretty simple.
The government must proceed very very carefully on this matter for its own sake. Jail or make too many lives' intolerable, the situation could get very dark for them.
The government has low information ignorance on the part of about 98% of the population on their side. All they need is a nice concerted effort in the press to make Bitcoin look like the undermining of society and the collapse of civilization, and the LIV sheep will help the Beast crush the weirdo techno libertarian upstarts.
And the government went out and bought one of the bigger players by getting Google hooked on the defense contracting crack pipe. They are corralling the sass before it happens, and they kill whoever they cannot corral, and those they can't kill, they buy.
I am libertarian, fan of Bitcoin, ardent hater of all things government, and techno geek weirdo white guy...but I can respect the power of a trillionaire with currency sovereignty and the monopoly on law, military, life, death and everything in between. Bitcoin survives as long as Fuhrer Sam allows it.
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