Subject: Re: [bitcoin-dev] Scaling Bitcoin conference micro-report

From: Dave Scotese <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2015 18:26:48 -0700

phm got most of this, but...

On Sat, Sep 19, 2015 at 2:53 PM, phm via bitcoin-dev <
[email-masked]> wrote:

> Mike Hearn via bitcoin-dev wrote:
>
> >
> >   * Most governments can easily spend enough money to do a 51% attack,
> >     especially if they can compel chip fabs to cooperate for free.
> >     This attack works regardless of how decentralised Bitcoin is.
> >
> >   * Any government can end Bitcoin usage in its territory by jailing
> >     anyone who advertises acceptance/trading of bitcoins, or prices in
> >     BTC. Because merchants /must/ advertise in order to alert
> >     customers that trades in BTC are possible, this is an attack which
> >     is unsolvable. If ordinary people can find such merchants so can
> >     government agents.
> >
>
Pot is used as money, and they do jail people for it, but it doesn't have
the effect to which you refer. It has the opposite effect, partially
because it enriches suppliers.

The 51% attack is a good point, but they would be taking a huge risk.
Ideas don't die, just people.  For example, they got Ross Ulbricht, not DPR.

Government is the group of people that does things that are not acceptable
if anyone else does them, and that is because people cheer for them when
they do those things, rather than pointing out that they are not
acceptable.  The movie "The Deep Web" shows how bitcoin helps to turn this
misfortune around.