Going "full China" to ban cryptocurrencies

Posted by bubah1mau 2 years, 6 months ago to Economics
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Mark Jeftovic, in his most recent commentary (even after witnessing China completely banning the use/mining/possession of cryptocurrencies) continues to see cryptos as "a counterbalance" to government currency that is likely to become digital in the not-to-distant future.

What makes Jeftovic so sure that government here in the US won't eventually get around to defending the monopoly status of their forthcoming digital currency when officialdom begins to see private cryptos as something other than a "counterbalance"?

I'm reminded of the actions the US Treasury took with the 1862 Legal Tender Act and the 1864 Coinage Act to abolish private minting/circulation of gold coinage (namely the privately minted, California gold-rush currencies intended to augment a shortage of coinage in those days) and any other alternative to US dollar denominated currency under "legal tender" provisions. Those same provisions also attempted to deny the use of silver Spanish "bit"- or "reales"-denominated currency that had been in use since colonial days. These actions were taken to suppress and obliterate competition, and assure a monopoly for the new "greenbacks" that would help pay for the Civil War. What makes Jeftovic so sure that times have changed?
SOURCE URL: https://bombthrower.com/articles/china-is-showing-us-what-it-would-take-to-ban-crypto/


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  • Posted by freedomforall 2 years, 6 months ago
    I agree. Big government and the banking cartel only allow to exist what they can control and use to steal from everyone else.
    For example, the 'price' of silver is driven today by paper indices that can be manipulated.
    Such prices are being driven down at present using the indices without banksters actually owning silver.
    Likewise prices can be inflated using the same tools.
    The goal is to steal from everyone else with the blessings of so-called government regulators who only protect the thieves.
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  • Posted by mhubb 2 years, 6 months ago
    crypto currencies, like paper money only have the value someone thinks they are worth

    no computers
    no crypto

    me, i'll take Gold, Silver, Lead
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 2 years, 5 months ago
    These measures remind me of when the Internet was new and people were struggling to find a way to preserve the existing media landscape. I think the idea of blockchain, of a math problem that decentralizes trust, is just so powerful it will be difficult to stop. There will still be people angling for power as always in human history.

    Blockchain really seems to solve the ancient problem of needing a trusted authority to verify elements of human interactions. I don't think there's any stopping that.

    People can and will continue to violate people's rights, but I don't think they'll do it by banning cryptocurrencies.
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    • Posted by 2 years, 5 months ago
      I don't think libertarians like you have a realistic conception of what terror "full China" implies. The generic result of a Google search for "China blockchain" yields:
      "China's central bank said on Friday that all cryptocurrency-related transactions are illegal in the country and they must be banned, citing concerns around national security and “safety of people's assets.” ... Offenders, the central bank warned, will be “investigated for criminal liability in accordance with the law.” Sep 24, 2021"

      In a police state like China, those gentle words have a more ominous meaning than you apparently can conceive--try jackboots smashing down doors and stinking imprisonment with little hope for a "trial" for openers. In the right set of political circumstances, attending the threat of a failure of the national currency, I would like to know what assurance you can provide that "full China" won't happen right here in the Democrat-Party-controlled US. Then you will know what terror and panic really mean.
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      • Posted by CircuitGuy 2 years, 5 months ago
        "I would like to know what assurance you can provide that "full China" won't happen right here"
        There is no such assurance. A liberal democracy with restrictions against violating individuals' rights is the exception, not the default state.

        I think oppressive governments will find ways to do it without eliminating blockchain, just as they did with the Internet. North Korea is an exception, where they really keep the Internet out. China wants to have it half away, used for commerce but not for anything that might question the government. I think blockchain is so powerful it will follow a similar path.
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        • Posted by 2 years, 5 months ago
          Have you heard of the circumstances of the arrest of the "Crypto Six" in New Hampshire, allegedly the "Live Free Or Die" state? https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/...

          The FBI smashed down their doors to seize computers and anything else that might advance the federal government's case. The "Six" were immediately hauled off to jail while their computers were dismantled to conjure up the evidence the Feds needed to hold them indefinitely for eventual trial. Some are apparently out on bail awaiting trial.

          To my knowledge two or three of the original "Six" are still jailed and awaiting trial--one of them, "Nobody," a regular until his arrest on the radio talk-show Free Talk Live, who remained obstinate I heard, was subject to isolation imprisonment. "Nobody" used threatening language to some of his jailers and/or court-related officials so he may be the last to be released, I don't know if a date has been set for any trial in the matter.

          The point is the blockchain didn't give a damn about what happened to these individuals. And it won't give a damn when Feds break into your home to seize your computer and other "evidence." All it takes is a whiff of a financial emergency--declared by the same people who created the emergency.

          https://www.theverge.com/22599932/bit...
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          • Posted by 2 years, 5 months ago
            I think it's worthy of note to add that the arrest of these individuals happened in March of this year, under the newly elected Biden administration--and not under the Trump administration. The FBI may have substantially built its case prior to Biden assuming the presidency but hesitated for a favorable climate to emerge in WDC before springing its trap. So chalk this atrocious, violent invasion of privacy up to Biden, not Trump.
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          • Posted by CircuitGuy 2 years, 5 months ago
            "blockchain didn't give a damn about what happened to these individuals."
            I'm saying blockchain solves an ancient problem so well I think it's bound to be adopted and widely used.
            I am not saying blockchain cares about people or causes people to respect rights.
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