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Does anyone here use Bitcoins?
Renegade:
The RAND Corporation is encouraging governments to attack Bitcoin.
http://www.neowin.net/news/us-sponsored-report-says-governments-should-attack-bitcoin-and-undermine-it
U.S. sponsored report says governments should attack Bitcoin and undermine it
In a world where constant on and offline surveillance by nation states seems to have become the norm, it’s perhaps little wonder that systems aiming to de-centralize services and maintain privacy have become targets.
In a new report, sponsored by the U.S. government, the influential RAND Corporation paints a bleak picture for the future of Bitcoin and other such technologies based around blockchains and encryption. According to this report, Bitcoin and blockchain technologies are actually succeeding in their primary goal of offering de-centralized, anonymized and resilient services to users around the world.
While that may sound like good news for many users, the report goes on to explain that this is in fact “agnostic to the national security interests of the United States”. Another big problem that the advancement of these technologies brings to the table is the dissemination of information regarding online encryption. Apparently, spreading knowledge of means of encryption and security among the general populace is a very bad idea.
The think tank then goes on to suggest that nation-states, particularly the U.S., should attack services like Bitcoin and other blockchain-based systems, through sophisticated technological means, to undermine their key strengths in the public perception: security, stability and privacy.
So why exactly are these systems, including Bitcoin, “agnostic” to the U.S. and other nation states’ interests? The report focuses on the fact that these technologies could be used by groups, maybe terrorists, to set up persistent communications and currencies that could be almost impossible to disrupt. And that sounds bad.
But there’s another argument which comes up again and again in the original report, and that’s simply the fact that nation-states, again particularly focusing on the U.S., would simply be unable to control or interfere in such systems if they’re developed and widespread.
It’s very doubtful that the debate around encryption and privacy will die down anytime soon, and for good reason, as this is perhaps one of the most important issues for human rights at the beginning of this 21st century.
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PDF of the RAND report here: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1200/RR1231/RAND_RR1231.pdf
mwb1100:
I don't use Bitcoin, but I came across this article which has some pretty dire statements about it:
- The resolution of the Bitcoin experiment
I don't know enough about the workings of Bitcoin to know if the article is a good one or not, but it sure sounds like he knows what he's talking about. I'm interested in what you guys think.
mouser:
That looks like a very interesting article -- thanks for sharing!
Stoic Joker:
I don't use Bitcoin, but I came across this article which has some pretty dire statements about it:
- The resolution of the Bitcoin experiment
I don't know enough about the workings of Bitcoin to know if the article is a good one or not, but it sure sounds like he knows what he's talking about. I'm interested in what you guys think.-mwb1100 (January 15, 2016, 10:59 AM)
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Article released ~21 hours ago.
Bitcoin price tanks ~20 hours ago.
Coincidence?? ...I think not.
Personally I wish the Son-of-a-Bitch would have kept his freaking teeth shut. I was about to do a selloff, but now I can't without screwing myself through the floor.
wraith808:
I want to see what Renegade thinks. Especially in the light of that troubling PDF he directed us to a bit ago.
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