Bitcoin: the Stripe perspective

Re:Bitcoin: the Stripe perspective by Cyther606 on Tuesday July 22, 2014 @12:07AM (#8067346)

> the vast majority of people in the world (at least those who've heard of it) know it as this weird, unsavory, and probably criminal thing

Yes, and it's the truth. What can bitcoin do that no other currency can? It can operate entirely outside of the existing banking system. That's the X factor of bitcoin, and NY regulators hate it for this reason.

The black market actually has _very_ wide appeal. It's worth north of 40% of GDP in certain developing nations. It's worth billions of dollars in America, and Bitcoin has that market cornered online. This _is not_ a bad thing. It is something worth celebrating.

I might add, the vast majority of Americans can't imagine a world in which the US Dollar isn't world reserve currency. Bitcoin was devised as a better currency system than the US Dollar ever could be, and that's why it's so special. Bitcoin doesn't try to be legal, it doesn't try to be whitewashed and savory, Bitcoin just _is_. And what it is, is a vastly superior form of money than fiat currency.

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Re:Bitcoin: the Stripe perspective by sanderjd on Tuesday July 22, 2014 @11:22AM (#8069445)

We disagree. Bitcoin (or other cryptocurrencies) can be safely transferred across large distances more easily than existing currency. It will be a good thing when governments figure out how to regulate it (and I think they will, eventually).

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Re:Bitcoin: the Stripe perspective by Cyther606 on Tuesday July 22, 2014 @12:51PM (#8069983)

Except NY already figured that part out. In fact, they recently presented their regulatory framework for public review. It involves shutting down Bitcoin as we know it, and replacing it with something in which

- every single wallet provider, including makers of open source wallets like Bitcoin-QT, in addition to Bitcoin exchanges and banks, are legally considered "Virtual Currency Businesses"

- each customer of a "Virtual Currency Business" must have a verified physical address and government issued photo ID on file in order to use Bitcoin

- each "Virtual Currency Business" must file suspicious activity reports on all transactions valued at over $3000 USD, meaning open source software like Bitcoin-QT must know each of its users at all times

- each "Virtual Currency Business" must retain records for no less than 10 years

- each "Virtual Currency Business" must maintain collateral in the form of USD including collateral for total Bitcoin balances

- each would-be creator of a cryptocurrency must register with the State before releasing 1 SLOC

The reason it's easy to transfer Bitcoin across long distances is that the system works without intermediaries. Regulation, as outlined by NY, involves polluting the Bitcoin protocol with precisely the same intermediaries that make the traditional banking system so awful.

> It will be a good thing when governments figure out how to regulate it

In other words, you believe it's a good idea to castrate Bitcoin and make it no different than PayPal, SWIFT, ACH, etc.

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Re:Bitcoin: the Stripe perspective by sanderjd on Wednesday July 23, 2014 @10:10AM (#8074431)

Points taken! That does sound awful. I want to have my cake and eat it too. I want regulations, but "good" ones, where "good" is defined in some vague and totally subjective way.

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Re:Bitcoin: the Stripe perspective by pjc50 on Tuesday July 22, 2014 @05:27AM (#8068006)

Ask an Italian whether a black market dominated economy is a good thing.

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