Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably

forbes.com 28 Jan '13, 2pm

Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably

I maintain that a government ban on bitcoin would be about as effective as alcohol prohibition was in the 1920s. Government prohibition doesn’t even do a good job of keeping drugs out of prisons. The demand for an item, in this case digital cash with user-defined levels of privacy, does not simply evaporate in the face of a jurisdictional ban. One could even make the case that it becomes stronger because an official recognition that Bitcoin is not only a “renegade” currency but a “so-effective-it-had-to-be-banned” currency would imbue the cryptographic money with larger than life qualities.

Full article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2013/01/28/governm...

Tweets

@jonmatonis » 18 Feb '13, 10am
@kerushton FYI, "Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably" [link]
@waspoza » 15 Feb '13, 4pm
@GarthBrokes Prepare for long wait then. [link]
@jonmatonis » 15 Feb '13, 8am
@Tent101 @ArmBritain @RotaryAvionics @ranty_man Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail [link] it's game theory and irrelevancy
@GNULinuxGuy » 14 Feb '13, 12am
RT @tea_doll: #Government Ban On #Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - Forbes [link]
@GNULinuxGuy » 14 Feb '13, 12am
RT @kfischetti: Government Ban On #Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably [link] via @sharethis
@kfischetti » 13 Feb '13, 1pm
Government Ban On #Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably [link] via @sharethis
@CSAStoronto » 12 Feb '13, 6pm
Can Bitcoin offer an alternative to "Grameen bank style Microcredit" with a decentralized peer-to-peer monetary system? [link]
@PierreZeitgeist » 10 Feb '13, 9pm
RT @IndiaBitcoin: Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - Forbes [link]
@jonmatonis » 10 Feb '13, 4pm
@flix1 Thanks. I also blogged about it on 1/28. Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably [link]
@hawks5999 » 08 Feb '13, 4am
What's a fella gotta do for the #DOJ to declare War on #Bitcoin? Why should drugs, guns and poverty get all the be... [link]
@KevinCarson1 » 05 Feb '13, 10pm
RT @leashless: Bitcoin: prosecute all users for money laundering? [link] Naw that'll never work, it'd be War on Drugs 2 [link]
@leashless » 05 Feb '13, 11am
Bitcoin: prosecute all users for money laundering? [link] Naw that'll never work, it'd be War on Drugs 2 [link]
@j0j0r0 » 04 Feb '13, 4pm
liberty + math = unstoppable -- #bitcoin [link]
@jonmatonis » 02 Feb '13, 3pm
@A_R_Armstrong What makes you think regulation or a ban would work? [link]
@socialhax » 02 Feb '13, 3pm
DOJ ban on Bitcoin would be likely as ineffective as any other prohibition. [link]
@SouleGroup » 01 Feb '13, 5am
@Forbes on the security of BTC: "Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably" -----> [link] #BeYourOwnBank
@samuelclay » 30 Jan '13, 3pm
RT @daveg: What will happen if (more likely when) bitcoin is made illegal: [link]
@jonmatonis » 30 Jan '13, 2pm
Is an officially “illegitimate” bitcoin a useless thing? [link] #payments #law #economics
@SWMisoSWF » 30 Jan '13, 12pm
RT @waspoza: RT @silviagaralonso: Can Governments ban bitcoins? NO, so relax and mine, buy, sell, transfer and use bitcoins [link] #bitcoin
@waspoza » 30 Jan '13, 12pm
RT @silviagaralonso: Can Governments ban bitcoins? NO, so relax and mine, buy, sell, transfer and use bitcoins [link] #bitcoin
@silviagaralonso » 30 Jan '13, 11am
Can Governments ban bitcoins? NO, so relax and mine, buy, sell, transfer and use bitcoins [link] #digitalcurrencies
@dottorblaster » 30 Jan '13, 10am
Government Ban On #Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - [link] #opensource
@daveg » 30 Jan '13, 8am
What will happen if (more likely when) bitcoin is made illegal: [link]
@Cyphertite » 30 Jan '13, 2am
Government Ban On #Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably -> [link] // #cryptography // #digitalcurrency // #cybersecurity
@purushivha » 29 Jan '13, 9pm
そういう意味だったの？政府はビットコインを禁止できないよ、世界中のどの国でも法律に違反してないよ、て内容かと思ってた。（＾＾； RT @seapollo: 何か、高値で売り逃げろってけしかける様な記事な雰囲気。あるいは買い上げるな [link]
@JoelBowman » 29 Jan '13, 4pm
RT @DailyReckoning: DR's @JoelBowman quoted in Forbes on Bitcoin! [link]
@DailyReckoning » 29 Jan '13, 4pm
DR's @JoelBowman quoted in Forbes on Bitcoin! [link]
@jonmatonis » 29 Jan '13, 1pm
RT @MSBCompliance: Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - Forbes [link]
@julesruby » 29 Jan '13, 1pm
RT @MADinMelbourne: Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - @JonMatonis [link]
@robotnr7312 » 29 Jan '13, 12pm
Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably [link] #svpol #ansvar
@seapollo » 29 Jan '13, 11am
このタイミングで、この記事を載せるフォーブスなの？何か、高値で売り逃げろってけしかける様な記事な雰囲気。あるいは買い上げるなというメッセージみたいな。過度なバブルは良くないのは確かなので不安定な通貨と知って置くべきなのは間違いのないこと。 [link]
@BitcoinByte » 29 Jan '13, 11am
>Fiat Money is a Mass Illusion controlled by the State >Bitcoin is a Mass Illusion controlled by...#Bitcoin! @Falkvinge [link]
» 29 Jan '13, 9am
oh, i hope, but doubt RT @glynmoody: Government Ban On #Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - [link] fascinating analysis; let's hope
@Falkvinge » 29 Jan '13, 9am
RT @glynmoody: Government Ban On #Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - [link] fascinating analysis; let's hope
@glynmoody » 29 Jan '13, 9am
Government Ban On #Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - [link] fascinating analysis; let's hope
@PeterHornyak » 29 Jan '13, 9am
RT @BitcoinOz: Jon Matonis - Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably: [link] #bitcoin
@SPCoulson » 29 Jan '13, 8am
RT @Packetknife: RT @ForbesTech: Government ban on Bitcoin would fail miserably [link]
@jonmatonis » 29 Jan '13, 8am
@jeffreyatucker I believe you are correct in that analysis, Jeffrey. Government ban on Bitcoin would fail miserably [link]
@jonmatonis » 29 Jan '13, 7am
RT @Sarah_Sebastin: The gov knows faith in money is a mass illusion. They never realized they wouldn't b n charge of the illusion. #Bitcoin [link]
@frankverheijden » 29 Jan '13, 6am
Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - Forbes [link] by @jonmatonis via @petervan
@Ed_Lemieux » 29 Jan '13, 6am
"@jonmatonis: Ironically, a government ban on Bitcoin would create something like the "Streisand effect" [link]" great article
@WhoIsSatoshi » 29 Jan '13, 6am
[link] #Bitcoins are here to stay. Read this article, and then read some more about the currency.
@manchfu » 29 Jan '13, 3am
RT @DirectPayNet: Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - Forbes [link]
@freedomlovinguy » 29 Jan '13, 3am
Bitcoin in Forbes: "..career mobility & contractor businesses will outstrip the growth of the wage-slave population." [link]
@avishbhama » 29 Jan '13, 1am
RT “@dgcmagazine: Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably - Forbes [link]”
@CaseyJParker » 29 Jan '13, 1am
No doubt they will anyway.. RT @57UN Government Ban On #Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably [link] #Privacy #Tor #Anonymous
@BitcoinByte » 29 Jan '13, 12am
"#Bitcoin is the ‘System D’ of currencies—global,decentralised & non-State sanctioned" @jonmatonis [link] [link]
@BitcoinOz » 28 Jan '13, 10pm
Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably: we want beer now In a blog post last week at Unqualifie... [link] #bitcoin
@NorbertBehrmann » 28 Jan '13, 10pm
RT @Tiefseher: Könnten Bitcoins verboten werden? Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably #inelastischesgeld #parallelwährung [link]
@Tiefseher » 28 Jan '13, 10pm
Könnten Bitcoins verboten werden? Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably #inelastischesgeld #parallelwährung [link]