I can't help what I know and all the evidence points to Bitcoin being polluted by the government. I agree Bitcoin is a great investment but I also believe the government has neutralized the threat of Bitcoin. Microsoft (one of the governments largest corporations) and banks and ATMs would never accept BC if it were not government controlled.
I expect a lot of emotion after you read this because people always get funny around money. You may consider smoking a joint before continuing.
I think the model of digital currency is the answer to ending government money monopolies but Bitcoin isn't the faultless answer. It's been hacked by the CIA. I don't mean a virtual hack of the block chain but they have it neutralized hence, hacked.
Even if block chain is unbreakable, and I believe it is, BC was neutralized by making it a part of the system it opposes....the banks. People use BC to hide their monetary transactions yet they convert it to currency then back to BC and then back to currency. This mean BC is no different than any other exchange except cash under the table. Furthermore, some people buy and sell BC through exchanges who they believe are legit. I suspicion the exchanges are government honey traps.
It's also suspicious that no one knows who invented or released Bitcoin. They tell us "Satoshi" created BC but there is no proof of that claim. In fact, many people believe the CIA created BC.
We know all these Bitcoin flaws are real. This should convince you the owners of this planet have used these holes to their advantage. After all, the last two threats to their monetary monopolies were bombed and executed in a gross fashion, Gaddafi and Hussein.
Ten years ago, I stated pot and all drugs should be legal and provided logic and proof that most couldn't see or wouldn't accept at the time. I also warned Silk Road was FBI hacked years before it was discovered I was correct. Most still don't get that anarchy is humankind's only hope and if we don't rid ourselves of government, we are doomed. No matter how much evidence I show statist, they reject it.
I have been ridiculed on dozens of occasions when analyzing important humanitarian institutions and philosophies. So, maybe I'm ahead of the curve on this one as I have been on many other occasions. I predict in the next few years the accusations I made about BC will be shown to be true.
By the way, I'm invested and will continue to invest in Bitcoin.
Brace yourselves! Here come the Bitcoin worshippers.
About the author: Barry Cooper
"You may have seen him on the pages of Maxim, or during one of his many appearances on CNN, Fox News and Spike TV. He’s the cop who turned against the drug war. In American pop culture right now, there’s nobody quite like him. As one of the former top drug cops working the Texas highways, he was ferocious, bringing down hundreds of people for possessing even tiny amounts of an illegal substance.In his new life as an anti-prohibition crusader and activist filmmaker, he’s just as ferocious, but now it’s his former colleagues in law enforcement who are sweating his intimidating gaze…Cooper is on a mission to free America’s pot prisoners and take down the abusive cops he once sought to emulate. In the terminology of war, Barry is an insurgent, lobbing bombs into the fourth estate as his form of penance for all the people he put behind bars on drug offenses.” —True/Slant
Barry Cooper has received global attention by being reported in over 700 newspapers and magazines including Rolling Stones, High Times, a feature in Maxim Magazine and a front cover feature in Cannabis Culture Magazine and the Texas Observer. He has been a guest on numerous radio shows and every cable news channel including MSNBC Tucker Carlson, FOX Geraldo At Large, ABC I Caught, NBC Mike and Juliet Morning Show and NPR’s, This American Life. He has also appeared as drug and legal expert in five episodes of SPIKE TV’s reality show, MANSWERS. Barry recently starred with Woody Harrelson, 50 Cent, Eminem and Susan Sarandon in the anti drug war documentary, “How To Make Money Selling Drugs.” The movie features Barry freeing prisoners.
“Barry was even better than he says he was. He had a knack for finding drugs and made more arrests and more seizures than all of the other agents combined. He was probably the best narcotics officer in the state and maybe the country during his time with the task force.” –Tom Finley, Commander Permian Basin Drug Task Force
We could speculate on whether Bitcoin has been infiltrated, or whether Snowden and Assange are psyops, or whether Killary Clinton conducts satanic rituals every fortnight, or we could judge the fruits of each and study them as they develop.
Exactly. Your comment is a wise formula for analyzing the unknown. Fist bump.
Video was prescient the first time, and I bet it's prescient this time, too.
As much as they pollution may occur, the system is still not only relevant, but has a potency and value worth investing into. Even if someone chose to do otherwise and invest into different cryptocurrencies, the existence of Bitcoins creates an environment more and more propitiatory to other currencies of the same potency or more. Thanks for the article and namaste :)
I will continue to invest in BTC as well. I look at it as systemic diversification.
FYI: BTC is the correct short version for Bitcoin.
BC would refer to another currency ;)
Whose to say bitcoin hasn't been an NSA or DARPA project from day one?
exactly.
I don't necessarilly disagree with you, actually. So much is unknown about the creation of Bitcoin. And some of the exchanges have been rather faulty. Aaaand I'm pretty sure, that government agencies have "confiscated" and "bought" a shit ton of bitcoin.
I've also moved most of my assets away from it anyway. Though, it got more to do with the annoyingly long transaction times, that have been going on for the last year or 2. Which wasn't what I signed up for, when I bought them at first. - Back then, it was close to instant transactions, and now I have to wait for hours without end.
On a sidenote. Could I get you to support our project, with shaming people, that trick young girls into giving away nude pictures of themselves, and then sharing them with eachother, and publicly?
The Danish government obviously ain't doing shit about it, and we will probably be facing jail time, once we go live with it. Since ostricizing people in Denmark, no matter what they've done. Is highly illegal. (People have gotten jailtime before, for sharing video's and pictures of violent robbers, and similar.)
Hope you'll consider, since you're the guy that you are. ^_^ <3
Aha, not that it's an excuse, but was rather drunk.
What @barrycooper describes is not Bitcoin being actually "hacked" but rather "anchored", that is to say it has got a large enough number of address/real-life ID mappings that are documented and accessible to financial authorities and law enforcement through exchanges KYC records that an overwhelming majority of users, including some that never KYC'd, can now be doxed by correlating them through all their transactions with other users that have been KYC'd, in what amounts to some sort of transitive doxing. It takes advanced technical skills and a flawless discipline to avoid letting any finger-prints that would allow the connection to be made.
Actually it's that bad that some undisclosed government agency has ordered to MIT a layer-2 technology to create a distributed KYC database on top of Bitcoin to make more systematic the address anchoring: Chain Anchor.
So, although I don't agree with some speculative views, @barrycooper is dead right on his core message here: "anonymity" and Bitcoin aren't exactly synonym. Now, that doesn't mean that Bitcoin isn't a major improvement over using completely centralized means of payment that are even more easily traceable. Bitcoin doesn't ask you who you are and will send any amount of money anywhere without questioning where the money came from. And in a very large number of cases, it is way too costly for law enforcement to establish a sufficient proof of the relation between a Bitcoin address and a real person that they usually won't even attempt to do it for minor victim-less crimes like minor tax evasion, buying weed etc. But for someone doing something that has a high enough profile to justify having agents dedicated to investigating the case, and who isn't a prodigy of network security, it's wise not to assume that using Bitcoin improves anonymity.
The point where I disagree is the assertion that Bitcoin is a CIA project. We truly have no evidence of that, and there are dozen equally good or even much better explanations. Even assuming Bitcoin was introduced by a government agency, NSA sounds like a more likely candidate, and we can't discount the possibility of factions within the government selectively increasing people's freedom to serve their design and further their own secret agenda. Tor is a good example of that kind of interested gift. The more recent Georges Soros leak contains many more examples.
Your comment is a fair assessment @recursive. Thanks.
Not a Bitcoin worshiper, perhaps more a Bitcoin pragmatist. From reading your article, and also from my own observations and studies into how Bitcoin works, it would appear the weak point is its interaction with government backed fiat currency. Is that a technical problem, or a societal problem? (just the fact it needs to interact with fiat). The reason I have started looking into Dash of late is, to my understanding, it takes the best of Bitcoin, but deals with Bitcoins inherent lack of true privacy. This is my rudimentary understanding of it.
So it seems the crypto world is new and evolving, somewhat rapidly when you consider it. I believe it is potentially world changing, but nothing that revolutionary goes unnoticed, and untouched, by the authorities.
But I believe in human ingenuity, so I am open to see how these issues pan out and develop and resolve themselves.
I am definitely feeling your vibes @naquoya.
One question though @barrycooper: Let's just assume the CIA has bitcoin hacked or neutralized. How would they go about manipulating or causing a positive reaction (for the government) in the Bitcoin market?
I mean I guess they'd have to come into the market after miners just can't mine anymore and then buy up a bunch? They'd have to do a bit of laundering since that would be on the blockchain....the market would definitely react to a lot of Bitcoin purchased.
The gold price has been manipulated through the paper-gold market. So in a way that too is hacked. But to me, the ultimate value of Bitcoin is the Blockchain. So like you say, it would expose certain things, at least to those who know how and where to look.
Like all revolutionary ideas and technologies, I don't doubt certain agencies have some type of involvement, but most likely after the fact. The uncertainty surrounding the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto just adds to the mystery.
Many of your points seem to completely ignore the fact that bitcoin is open source software. Neither 'hacked' nor 'polluted' apply here. Bitcoin exchanges have been hacked but the bitcoin blockchain has never been hacked.
I fully agree and stated the same in my post with this statement, " It's been hacked by the CIA. I don't mean a virtual hack of the block chain but they have it neutralized hence, hacked."
I think the only difference is you think Bitcoin cannot be polluted and I do. I love hearing diverse opinions. It helps me rethink things. Thanks for commenting. Peace and love!
lol just saying "its been hacked by the cia" is dishonest and reckless though. Because once the reader reads that, the rest of the sentence fades away into the distance, and you know that. That's your goal here. To get people to read the first sentence and let the rest fade away.
That's not what he said not hacked but "controlled" by the government .. I think he has a point.
So then why isnt the first sentence "Bitcoin is now controlled by the government" hell it could have always been controlled by the government, but controlled by the government is far less click bait than "bitcoin has been hacked!".
Hmm... maybe the title is suggestive ;-) but it's all about his message, that's how I see it.
I'm into Bitcoin too, sure, but I'll take a warning. Interesting coming from another point of view, especially with his experience.
It is no longer decentralized when we give the power to Exchanges and depend on them. (or Government Corporations) They watch our every move. Can we really trust them? Just lost a lot on Bitfinex... just saying. Bitcoin should be used by people, and kept in the hands ((paper)) wallets) of People not on Exchanges.
I don't see a point in this post.
Click-bait title, many ifs and "i believe", and then half the article is you talking about yourself in third person?
Just cause bitcoin is being regulated in some states amd exchanges doesn't mean Satoshi Nakamoto has anything to do with the CIA or government. To me this is starting to sound like self-promotion by someone who hasn't studied bitcoin enough to make such allegations. And no, I don't care to hear what you've done in your former life or what made you turn around to become this self-procclaimed hero of the war on drugs. But I don't think you are deserving these payouts for writing something that takes 10 minutes and pasting the same image in every thread.
I agree with you Acidyo, this is a very self serving article and a blatant attempt at being controversial to get trolls to comment so he can argue with them. This entire article is bait. From the headline to the "Brace yourselves! Here come the Bitcoin worshippers.".
Ego over 9k.
Thank you. As an active redditor it got easier over time to notice this bullshit, and since people over there only did it for imaginary karma points or attention, its a lot easier to notice it here when its about real money.
Thanks for noticing it and not falling for it like the rest of the hivemind.
@acidyo The last part of the article that talks about myself in third person is my author signature. It was taken directly from my website, Nevergetbusted.com. I use that signature profile at the end of all my articles. Since Steem's formatting features are a bit difficult to learn at the moment, I did not know how to shrink it like most Author's signatures. Sorry for the confusion but I'm puzzled how you couldn't figure out what it was. Under my photo, you can clearly see the words "About the Author." As far as hating on my accomplishments, you sound jealous. I visited your blog and noticed you are not making as much money as I am so that's probably the reason you stated I don't deserve the money I'm making. I have worked non stop for 11 years freeing prisoners, busting cops, producing videos, blogging and many other things to help humanity. Because of my activism, I lost everything. I was raided twice, jailed 4 times, my wife jailed 3 times and my Autistic son taken for 1.5 years. I lost my home and belongings when I had to flee the U.S. and the lost my family. I deserve whatever the Universe gives me and receive it with gratitude. I don't consider myself a hero but I'm glad millions of others do. Apparently my accomplishments are enough to land a movie deal and many other wonderful opportunities. I do self promote at times but if you will notice, I promote myself by using what others say about me. Re read my signature and you will notice I used quotes from other media outlets. You sound angry and insecure about your accomplishments. Can I help you feel better about yourself? If not, why do you read my publishings? Do you have a Barry fetish? Get over me and use your energy to become the best version of yourself you can. Like I stated, I just visited your blog and now I'm following you. I'll start giving you some upvotes to help you out. Peace and love.
Barry, I stumbled on your post and I found the introduction part below very helpful. Impressed and following now, even more impressed by your reaction for the hater.
Thanks julesatwork. I sincerely loved reading your encouragement. Big heart love to you and thanks for following me.
His reaction to the "hater" was sophomoric at best. At worst it proves how unstable he is.
"Hater". lol
There you go. Write that about yourself instead of making it sound like a television show.
This isn't about jealousy at all. I've been into bitcoin since 2013 and been the first to mine and gather most of the top 50 on coinmarketcap.com so don't worry about my income, I'm doing this for fun.
But if I sense bullshit some timea I like to call it out how I see it, but thanks for totally ignoring the fact that you used a clickbait title and using words like "hacked" etc, it sounds like either you are the one not making enough money, or you think this audience is as dumb as facebooks or whatever else source you write to this way.
Don't get me wrong, my tone might have sounded harsh but I don't "hate" on authors just cause they do better on me on the site. I have been recruiting so many people here and many of them have done better than myself. But when I notice bullshit posts like these make it to the top when other posts far more deserving don't, then I like to speak my mind about it. This and the "Steemit had a severe glitch" -post are the only ones I had a problem with, and judging by how quickly you keep jumping on the "jealousy" -train both here and on that post about dollarvigilantes downvote that caused him to "lose" 2k $ its starting to sound like self-defense.
And ehh, do you really make any criticism to your posts this personal always? Do you live in some fairytale land where everyone praises the smallest thing yoy say? Get off your high horse and your "millions" of people who think you are a hero. It doesn't take a genius to know the U.S are fucked beyond repair.
Are you really asking me why I read your post and if that in some way has to do with a fetish of mine? Damn son, way to make it more personal, you will love decentralized freedom of speech with that attitude.
Here is something personal then; maybe everything that the universe has given you is karma for putting away all those people in prison on pot charges. I've read stories on people getting charged in Texas, and it doesn't sound all that different than laws from countries your country is fighting wars against the last couple decades. With all those ferocious busts I bet all of them weren't even legit and many went to prison and ruined their lives so your police station can fill the yearly arrest quota.
Wanna throw me more allegations and accusations about my activity and question my posts here? Feel free to, just remember it can go both ways.
I don't disagree with you deserving what the universe throws at you.
If you want to use Bitcoin without it being traceable to you, one way is to create a wallet using a 12 word master seed using a client side program on a burner computer and then find someone to buy the bitcoins from and have them deposit to one of your addresses created using that master seed. A new address can be created for each deposit received, all using the same 12 word master seed to recover all the addresses.
I've also heard about Bitcoin tumblers, which is like laundering the Bitcoin so it can't be easily traced back to the original source. So you may want to incorporate that in there somewhere.
People are still using Silk Road websites successfully and the only way people are getting caught is if the seller on the website is an informant or agent. For the most part, the government isn't tracking this stuff. What does the CIA care if a billion dollars of drugs are sold using bitcoin?
The feds care because they want the opportunity to seize the money. The feds seized 5 billion in 2015. I have had clients hire me as an expert witness who owned pipe shops for years with no problem. As soon as they had a million or more in the bank, the feds raided the shops for bogus reasons and seized the cash. My last one was a few months ago where the feds seized 3 million. It's all about the money.
Bitcoin's price speculation: may be to balance with other cryptos... and then the massive mainstream adoption to boom the price up again... Im doing Dash, Ethereum too :)
Barry here's an anti drug-war commentary I wrote recently. The drug war is such an insidious problem, keep up the fight!
https://steemit.com/commentary/@mikeinfla/getting-robbed-pressure-gradients-and-donald-trumps-wall
Nice work @mikeinfla I'm sorry I didn't see it in time or I would have giving you an upvote. Peace.
With great freedom comes great responsibility. And also self ownership goes along with self responsibility. I think everybody must put the right amout of awareness into their doings, to keep the balance between using a system and get used by it. So perhaps in the end it doesn't even matter if bitcoin is hacked or simply used for the wrong causes. If it does not deliver the freedom it is ascociated with, then people will move on. Isn't this what true anarchy is all about? Never get owned, never get busted!
Keep up the good fight!
I'm somewhat new to crypto currencies but hear me out.
While it's true that you can exchange Bitcoin into dollars, pounds etc there are services out there, albeit few who allow the option to use their services solely with Bitcoin. My hope is that over time more and more services will begin to incorporate crypto currencies as a means to do business. After-all crypto currencies such as Bitcoin are just one of the ways in which to work towards rendering the federal reserve and government obsolete.
how did you know silk road was hacked before the appeal? just curious.
I was one of the nations top drug enforcement officers. I was cross trained by the DEA and worked operations with the U.S. military, ATF, FBI, Border Patrol and U.S. Customs. I noticed Silk Road was getting a lot of attention from selling a massive amount of drugs. I also know from experience how easy it is to infiltrate crime organizations. I also knew there was millions of dollars to be seized. I knew this was a perfect recipe to attract the best government hackers in the world. For me, I couldn't understand how everyone didn't see it coming. Good question. Peace.
Cool barrycooper is here. I have watched you interviewed about the drug war.
I think the govt, being as powerful as it is, could really infiltrate any endeavor. There is idealism behind bitcoin, but some of it will still be true regardless of whether govt is involved. (as a tool of rebellion it will hold up in a few ways) They could not orchestrate a complete crash.
Nice to have you around radioactivities. It's always great to connect with a fan. Puff puff pass!
a very strong statement, it is causing me some doubt, but maybe tomorrow it may prove true.
Barry Cooper is a very interesting person.
I consider that a compliment. Big love to you and thanks for acknowledging I could be right. I'm fully aware I could be wrong and if I am, it wont be the first time. lol. Peace and love.
and you good luck @barrycooper ;)
So it is still a good investment though?
I think it is and so do others who are much smarter than I am.
Yes, I am holding multi altcoin as well. Glad you joined steemit, and love your content, Barry.
Great article @barrycooper interesting to see where bitcoin will be in another 5 years. Hopefully still number 1. Thanks!
Thanks rawnetics! I also hope BC stays number one. Well, I take that back. I hope Steem becomes number one...lol.
Wow a great achievement. This skills is what my country needs to help our president in his campaign against illegal drugs.
I like bitcoin, and use it from time to time, but it seems like the blockchain has the capacity to make transactions even more trackable trackable than transactions at a bank.
For transactions you want to be sure will remain private, it's probably still best to cash, or a physical, cash substitute. (Precious metals, barter, etc.)
IHMO, it also has the to shore up the current banking system (good, bad or indifferent). Instead of pulling dollars out of accounts and holding it as cash, people can buy bitcoin; keeping those dollars in the banking system in the process.
I also have concerns about whether cryptocurrencies will continue to hold up when quantum computing goes mainstream. It's probably a long way off, but it's still something to think about.
Another concern I have is the possibility of the entire global banking system being put on a blockchain. A blockchain based legal tender currency could spell the end of financial privacy for anyone forced into such a system.
"Microsoft (one of the governments largest corporations) and banks and ATMs would never accept BC if it were not government controlled."
I disagree. I think they would accept it if its value was high enough and there was enough demand for bitcoin acceptance. This technology was somthing many people wrote off at first, and many people still do, which allowed us to grow the ecosystem to a level where it could no longer be ignored. My biggest concern in terms of state control of bitcoin comes from its reliance on SHA encryption, which was developed by the NSA. There is the possibility that the NSA wouldnt have released these algorithms without a way to defeat them.
Click bait title..
Bitcoin has been hacked.. and by hacked.. i mean not hacked but um, controlled by the government.. But a headline "bitcoin is controlled by the cia now!!" is far less click bait. smh.
It's about drawing attention to the message, thats how i see it.
I published the paper. My identity stayed hidden to avoid any "funny" business like the one you experienced. Now that the whole thing has really lift off, I have no reason to do so anymore.
I disagree that #BTC is part of the banks system. Some of them became part of BTC because they realized that either they adapt or perish. The rest can go on with their monolithic ways.
Finally, even if they manage to bring down BTC, there will always be a lot of other options out there. Healthy competition. This time, they cannot bomb their way out of it...
Even though the volatility exists I still feel Bitcoin and other cryptos have plenty of room to grow. The best thing about them is how this technology scares the banksters.
Fear Uncertainty Doubt. One thing is for sure, this author doesn't understand what bitcoin is or how it came about.
Just found this via blog.fefe.de, it does seem to support your suspicion...?
I gabe a detailed reply tontjis post here https://steemit.com/steemit/@andrew0/in-response-to-barrycooper-bitcoin-is-hacked-by-the-cia-why-bitcoin-just-can-t-be-hacked
Hope it may clarify some aspects about the Bitcoin technology
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