That was a quote from Republican Dana Rohrabacher today while he had the floor in the House of Representatives.
He first started out by defending the Trump administration from all the charges of collusion and nefarious activities between Trump and Russia.
Then he quickly turned to Bitcoin, which was quite a surprise to many.
Specifically, Rohrabacher said that he fears terrorists will use the digital currency for nefarious purposes (they already are). However, given that context, he made it clear that he didn't think it was best to ban the currency either. Which is where the title quote comes in:
"Banning digital currencies will not prevent terrorists from using them any more than banning guns will prevent criminals from using them."
Instead he had this to say:
"Blockchain technology empowers the good people of the world, but it could be used by those who have goals that are evil."
Ok, so what do we do about it?
According to Rohrabacher, we need to implement full scale money laundering and know-your-customer standards on virtual currency transactions and exchanges.
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made similar comments about Bitcoin and the virtual currency space in the past.
When Japan decided to legalize Bitcoin as a form of money a few months back they also adopted and enforced similar standards on all of their exchanges.
Some thoughts...
For those of you that do not like hearing even the hint of regulation, this isn't probably something you want to hear.
However, I thought his counter argument about banning Bitcoin not being the answer either very refreshing to hear. If Bitcoin were to be banned by some of the largest governments in the world it would likely be game over for Bitcoin.
So, it sounds like many of the higher ups are leaning more towards figuring out how to integrate Bitcoin into society as opposed to outlawing it... which is great news in my opinion.
What do you all think, is this the best way to go about it?
Let me know in the comments section below.
Stay informed my friends!
Sources:
Image Sources:
https://www.poputees.com/products/guns-dont-kill-people-i-kill-people
https://news.bitcoin.com/government-will-fail-regulating-bitcoin/
https://themerkle.com/this-solar-mill-powers-a-small-bitcoin-mining-operation/
Follow me: @jrcornel
Totally agreed. Post upvoted.
Bitcoin will get regulated more in other countries and in the USA. Eventually exchanges who want to continue to exist will need to comply and comply with this and blah. Exchanges as they stand now are only useful in buying into BTC. But that is not to say another system could be developed that also does this.
We don't need exchanges technically speaking. The technology already exists for Bitcoin atms and people use localbitcoins, but if we want to have mass adoption we need something big and faster and easier.
They should do sth about the gun laws first and then worry about cryptocurrency! Evil people will always find a way to do evil! Banning will be useless!
my response -- 'Cool bro, but is it enforceable?'
for the vast majority of the population who is/would buy digital currencies, this would be no problem. But for anyone who either wants/needs/desires private transactions, 15 minutes of research would yield countless methods of obfuscating transactions.
this will be a scenario of 'squeezing harder makes things slip through your fingers'. if they can't do it in china, i don't know how they would do it here without some NSA-tier implementations that would rile people up
My take here is that the US government is acknowledging that banning Bitcoin is useless. It is better to put in some regulations for the regular folks so it can go mainstream than to let criminals be the only ones to use it.
It is like when they banned alcohol. Prohibition proved to be unenforceable. Criminals took over the distribution and serving of alcohol. When they repealed the Prohibition, it generated taxes for the government and weaken the base of organized crime
I'm in china. I was not affected when they stopped RMB withdrawals on the Chinese exchanges or all the restrictions they imposed. I simply used Localbitcoin and bought all my BTC from there
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/10/bitcoin-drops-by-100-as-chinas-central-bank-corrals-the-market.html
Good points. Thanks for chiming in.
Banning never helps the PEOPLE! Alcohol, drugs, guns, language, art, and on and on. Banning is a classic form of control to provide the illusion of safety or narrative for manipulation. Just my 0.00000002 Satoshis!
LOL "Just my 0.00000002 Satoshis!" That's too funny.
Humans have been involved in illegal activities a long time now, and banning cryptocurrency will certainly not stop persons who are seeking to do illegal stuff.
I think it is more worthwhile to find ways that incorporate these currencies in our way of life, as we try to quench our thirst for technological advances.
To me technologically advances needs an ally and crypto currencies are the ideal playmate.
One of the most often heard discussions about digitial currencies is that theyre used by terrorists and criminals, but if you return the favour and say that terrorists ALREADY use dollars, yen, and euros to fund their crimes, you'll either be met with silence or " well, thats something different"
Great point... They also breath air... If we get rid of all the air, we get rid of all the terrorists! Presto!
You can't ban what can't be banned. No one controls Bitcoin. My advice would be to let the people decide.
people do control Bitcoin but for now the government dont
guns did not kill people || people kill people :)
Bitcoin does not bomb people, terrorists bomb people :p
Bitcoin will go mainstream, legit, the real deal Holyfield at some point. Outlawing it would be pointless due to the nature and design of blockchain technology itself. Peace Out.
Banning cryptocurrency will not stop anyone who wants to perform illegal actions with it. Dear government, we are deeply sorry you can't control and tax everything, I know you wish you could!
This is so true.....
https://steemit.com/steemit/@arthur-schopen/26-an-orange-russian-you-will-never-guess-what-is-actually-means-i-was-stumped-i-promise-this-will-make-you-laugh-i-kinas-like
No but this man will haha
Yeah, they don't want to ban it. That would be stupid. They want to control it and profit off of it through extortion. They are politicians and they can't keep their greasy mitts out of our money!
Cheers,
Sean @seanengman
A very truthful advice with some fun... I liked your post.
Check out what happens on august 1 - https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@mattermaster/what-will-happen-with-bitcoin-on-august-1
Digital currency has nothing to do with terrorists .., digital currency is very useful for business people
Very true @jrcornel 👊 👊
Criminals are always going to find a Way.. Why should we Suffer because of some Bad Apples. They Fear Monger any Idea that Steps on their Territory.
Well, yes, along with the crypto currency, it is necessary to ban explosives, kitchen knives and cars, especially trucks - terrorists also use them.
Haha yes great point, along with air... if we get rid of air they can't use that anymore...
great post
You are great at making posts, i like it
good job @jrcornel
great comment
You are great at making comments, i like it
good job @wahyusaputra
Im not looking forward to it, but only the overly ignorant never thought it would happen. If it gains acceptance and value for BTC then go for it.. there will always be the monero or something like it who will move away from the regulation when it comes
As long as you have anonymous internet and anonymous fiat-coin exchange (localbitcoins) I don't see how the government can ban one particular coin. Maybe if it manages to disable all miners and developers worldwide, but this is gonna be difficult.
He has got the right idea, too bad I don't think we will be truly decentralized anytime soon. The government will always find a way to be on our asses.
Yeah, that's right @jrcornel . Banning crypto's wouldn't do anything. People who have to misuse them will find a way to do that. But because that irrational the whole benefits come with it, can't be ignored. Crypto's are the future and they have the potential to change the world. They should be regulated not banned. Their decentralization is the core importance of them. Take it away and crypto's are done.
Thanks @jrcornel for sharing this awesome article.
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great information
Andreas Antonopolis said it perfectly when he said that banning cryptos would only prevent honest people from using them to do honest things.
excellent post thanks
For all the comments saying no one controls Bitcoin or other crypto's, sadly I think this is not true, why do you think we have these wild variations in prices? Somebody or some group or groups have to be behind them.
Crooks use Cash! These jackasses need to be voted out of office! They are all there to Damn long!
They know what's coming with BTC! They loose Control!
Great stuff. I am hoping that large governments, much like the USA, will not ban. I am thinking that this is the future of currency.
Thanks for the post
The biggest criminals are clearly in Washington, and yes, crypto will defeat them. If they want to spend the last of their precious fiat money on trying to regulate Bitcoin, let them! Just one more cost that will send their currency over the edge and everyone running to Gold, Silver and cryptocurrencies.
They are bleeding out and they are dead, they just don't know it yet.
So we've never invaded a terrorist country before and found millions/billions of USD there, but crypto is the only one funding terrorism. Interesting how that works.
How about banning decision makers who do not know what bitoin technology is and who refuse to learn new things? No one should be in the decision pool if they don't even know what they are deciding about. They are not helping the country to maintain as a leader in technology advancement.
upvoted resteemed and shared on twitter facebook and linkedin. Excellent dose of truth as usual.
I think that they know it's unstoppable. I believe Crypto is the way of the future...
Hell yeah spot on . Cheers mike
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I think what he's really trying to say is that he doesn't want anyone but government funding terrorists!
Banning crypto? That can never happen, we are too far gone. If they announce a ban on crypto , more people will want to use it. They are getting paranoid because they can't control cryptos. Lets see how far they will go..hahaha
I agree with you however united states Gov is interested mainly on its tax and Dollars
Yeah, I like the gun law comparison. I didn't know terrorists were using cryptocurrency, but it certainly makes sense. However, you said he defended the charges of collusion and nefarious activities against Trump..? If that were true, he would be right in defending against it, but as far as I knew Trump was never charged nor was there proof of any evidence of nefarious activities between him and Russia either... There's plenty of ACTUAL nefarious activities Trump has been involved with (like supporting terrorism), so there's no reason to falsely demonize him with this silly Russian collusion conspiracy. Anyway, informative post, I think BitCoin is here to stay.
Well done post thanks for sharing
I have no doubt government will ban bitcoin the very minute they figure out how to ban algebra.
Speak the truth!
Some ppl will continue doing bad things so, getting rid of digital money would be a very STUPID thing for them to do as it can substantially help them do better business. Same with the internet story on how the internet came to be. Now look how it's helping governments in many ways!
Some to this day would still state that the internet is evil due to many reasons BUT it's also a good thing in many ways. The government allows bad evil movies to be glorified via the big screen(theaters) and allow guns to be sold in some stores and whatever else they shouldn't be doing but, they do 0r allow it! I can go on forever about this! I just hope they do the right thing.
They can even ban it for a year or two in the U.S. just to keep some noise down while their working on their digital mining in the background ;) to then bring it back after they got it on lock ha!
Totally Acceptable ,i Am with u. upvoted
This is such great news. While the purists will insist that all regulation is terrible, I'm more on your side JR that smart regulations are the best case - because inevitably, IMO, some kind of regulation will come down.
nicely said...what people perceive as bad can also be good
We do not need money laundering controls on fiat or on crypto; what we need are policies that target the guilty, not policy that targets everyone.
Better HUMINT and enhanced interrogation on the terrorists we catch, and fewer restrictions on wiretapping organized criminals.
The regularization would fall mostly on the business part I think.
Because you can't regulate the normal citizen in using BTC. But you can on the business.
And maybe the investing and speculation area of the crypto can be regulated in a way.
thanks @jrcornel
surprised to hear such a positive statement about Bitcoin must have something to do with "bitcoin sign guy" probably the most coverage since mount gox.
Impossible to ban Cryptocurrencies anyways they dont exist in physical form or on any servers,they exist at their location in a wallet using the internet to change hands.
To ban would have to either shut down the internet which would only stall as networks could be built outside the internet from the ground up,
only possible way would be to seize every wallet every miner and control the ASIC chip supply which bar the wallets wouldnt be too hard.
on criminals using Bitcoin, criminals use all forms of mediums to exchange value bitcoin probably being the least since the total supply wouldn't even cover 10% of world drug trade, i would say the order of most used to least would be Cash,Guns,Gold,Bitcoin
basis of that is supply of guns gold and bitcoin is limited, cash is not.
I think the that minor things KYC would only help the Crypto sphere reach mainstream adoption like the surge in Japan as an example,can always be voted out in the future when governments are replaced with DAO's.
Indeed, I agree with you, banning Bitcoin will not solve problem, resteemed your blog
I give president trump kudos!
I truly would not mind paying tax's on my bitcoin in the end, it's not like I make enough to really notice or even make a substantial difference in my life.
But the pushback is when you decide to regulate a world wide currency on the world wide web....
this is not the best way to go about it, but it is a better way!