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Re:Distributed Ledgers Part I: Bitcoin is dead by imglorp on Saturday August 29, 2015 @09:57AM (#10139990)
I need to take exception with your first three characterizations, which imply that btc is used for these activities because it is anonymous and untraceable--it is neither.

Zerocoin is those things.

Re:Distributed Ledgers Part I: Bitcoin is dead by brighton36 on Saturday August 29, 2015 @10:19AM (#10140053)
Bitcoin is 'anonymous enough' given the current regulatory environment. As the regulation catches up, Bitcoin will evolve to be precisely as fungible as is required to support its users. You see that happening now with Gregory Maxwell's research. The protocal can and does evolve. Fungibility has opportunity costs, and Bitcoin simply hasn't needed to add these features in yet.
Re:Distributed Ledgers Part I: Bitcoin is dead by dragontamer on Saturday August 29, 2015 @12:06PM (#10140434)
This assumption of "Bitcoin will evolve" ignores the fact that evolution requires forks.

Bitcoin vs Bitcoin XT bull$$$$ is a major example. Will BTC actually be able to evolve this relatively minor technical challenge?

As Bitcoin vs Bitcoin XT has shown us, it is the BTC Community that needs to evolve, not BTC protocol itself.

Re:Distributed Ledgers Part I: Bitcoin is dead by brighton36 on Saturday August 29, 2015 @12:19PM (#10140483)
I don't understand your point here. Bitcoin has changed consensus multiple times. All that was demonstrated by the Bitcoin XT proposition was that there is some support(though not much) for a change of project maintainership. If you're concerned about whether bitcoin could support changes, that's fair, it may not. Thus far it has.

The opinions of the teenagers on r/bitcoin don't matter much, as very few of them are either: coders, miners, or even users.

Re:Distributed Ledgers Part I: Bitcoin is dead by pablovidal85 on Saturday August 29, 2015 @12:25PM (#10140502)
Not every protocol change is controversial enough to prevent the majority from upgrading.
Re:Distributed Ledgers Part I: Bitcoin is dead by csomar on Saturday August 29, 2015 @12:42PM (#10140564)
There are services to launder and mix your bitcoins. There are also people that don't care about privacy but are more concerned of the bank ability to freeze their account.
Re:Distributed Ledgers Part I: Bitcoin is dead by meric on Saturday August 29, 2015 @09:59AM (#10139997)
The characteristics of anonymous and untraceable do not have a monopoly on being the only characteristics that can help a tool perform those first three characterised tasks.