The Feds Are Terrified Of Cryptocurrencies... But They're Powerless To Stop Them | Zero Hedge
Description: Nothing scares the government more than something it can’t control, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed this week that it is terrified of cryptocurrencies - as well it should be.
Keywords: Zero Hedge,Zerohedge,Finance,Economics,Markets,Politics,Analysis,Bitcoin,Securities and Exchange Commission,Twitter
Date: 2013-01-07T00:00:00Z

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# The Feds Are Terrified Of Cryptocurrencies... But They're Powerless To Stop Them

by Tyler Durden
Jul 30, 2017 1:00 PM
0
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Authored by Josie Wales via TheAntiMedia.org,

The federal government is no match for innovation. This is something lawmakers have always known, and it is the reason state and federal regulations exist. But innovation, by its very nature, will always find a way around those regulations, resulting in the implementation of more regulations for creative minds to learn to evade — which they will. This results in the over-regulation we see in America today.

Nothing scares the government more than something it can’t control, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed this week that it is terrified of cryptocurrencies — as well it should be. See, all those lawmakers and bureaucrats sitting around regulating everything depend on taxpayer money to pay their salaries so they can keep writing regulations. Since cryptocurrencies allow people to keep all of their money, this is a big problem for the lawmakers. Soon, people may even start to realize they can buy, sell, and trade freely without any government intervention. The horror.

So the SEC recently got together to write up even more regulations to try to scare people away from using cryptocurrencies and the blockchain by targeting Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs. Initial Coin Offerings have become very popular recently as a way for crypto start-ups to raise funds for their ventures using digital tokens (cryptocurrency) like Bitcoin or Ethers. They operate on a blockchain, which is a decentralized digital ledger of publicly and chronologically-recorded cryptocurrency transactions. Investopedia gives a wonderfully detailed breakdown of how ICOs work. You can read it here or watch an explanation by technologist and author of The Internet of Money and Mastering Bitcoin Andreas Antonopoulos here.

Basically, with the birth of the ICO came the emergence of a whole new market — one with a great deal of money floating around that the federal government couldn’t take by force. Naturally, this had to be investigated, and on July 25, the SEC released a Report of Investigation under Section 21(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The investigation zeroed in on the DAO, a distributed autonomous organization that set the record for the largest crowdfunding campaign in history, raising over $150 million in ether in 2016. According to the report published by the SEC:

> “The Commission applied existing U.S. federal securities laws to this new paradigm, determining that DAO Tokens were securities. The Commission stressed that those who offer and sell securities in the U.S. are required to comply with federal securities laws, regardless of whether those securities are purchased with virtual currencies or distributed with blockchain technology.”

Or, as crowdfunding lawyer Amy Y. Wan explains, the press release amounts to the SEC saying:

> “For those of you out there doing ICOs, we’re here to warn you that U.S. securities laws might apply. When we say might, we mean just that — sometimes securities law will apply, sometimes it won’t. It depends on the specific facts of the ICO.”

Okay, so the government wants to regulate virtual tokens, aka cryptocurrency. Good luck. As blockchain engineer Elaine Ou pointed out on Twitter, ICO’s are “Untraceable, international, [have] no central authority, [and] funds can’t be frozen. The SEC ICO warning is the best ad for ICO’s.”

So while the government can — and will — continue to make the lives of innocent people miserable using weapons like civil asset forfeiture, crypto regulations, web-provider takedowns, and the war on drugs, these are all last ditch efforts by a desperate ruling class on its death bed.

The creativity and resilience human beings possess do not exist within the jurisdiction of the government – no matter how hard it tries to convince us otherwise.

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FreeShitter Jul 30, 2017 1:01 PM

We knew that.

Looney FreeShitter Jul 30, 2017 1:07 PM

At first, the Fed was probably very happy that the Crypto-Currencies kept the price of gold down.

Now, they are scared shitless. I don't care about the Cryptos, but anything that makes the Fed scared – me liky! ;-)

Looney

Raffie Looney Jul 30, 2017 1:12 PM

Cryptos good, Fed bad.

The central planners Raffie Jul 30, 2017 1:29 PM

Blockchain good , cryptocurrencies scam.

auricle The central planners Jul 30, 2017 1:59 PM

Governments are not powerless to stop them. Outlaw merchants from accepting them and/or outlaw bitcoin purchase/sales either online or in stores. Sure, you can never get rid of bitcoin but what is a bitcoin worth if you can't use it?

SadhakaPadma auricle Jul 30, 2017 2:05 PM

SOme goverments encourage to use bitcoin as example Japanesse.

Mr. Universe SadhakaPadma Jul 30, 2017 2:09 PM

Some people's kids...

> Governments are not powerless to stop them.

Anyone who thinks anything stored in a computer anywhere hooked into the "net" is secure from government intervention is sadly mistaken.

Ghost of PartysOver Mr. Universe Jul 30, 2017 2:21 PM

If it is digital it can be created, hacked, cracked, manipulated, and deleted. All from a single computer in a single room by a single person. If it is physical, not so much.

Automatic Choke Ghost of PartysOver Jul 30, 2017 2:41 PM

Why should crypto currencies frighten govts any more than precious metals?

Arturo Automatic Choke Jul 30, 2017 3:19 PM

Because they cannot short them and use derivatives.

Dsyno Arturo Jul 30, 2017 3:31 PM

"The Fed's Are Powerless To Stop Cryptocurrencies"

Bullshit. Look how fragile Bitcoin is/was this month, on the verge of being split in two because of in-fighting between various groups. A group of people are deciding the future of Bitcoin right now. To Segwit or not to Segwit. Think about that: A group of people are deciding the future of Bitcoin.

China controls so much of the Bitcoin mining, due to their cheap electricity and cheap servers, that China now has a huge say in decisions on Bitcoin changes. They could've devastated this entire Segwit plan.

Since China already has so much control over Bitcoin, you can absolutely bet that there are, and will be, countless more ways to control it.

My bet is, each government is going to create their own cryptocurrency, and make all independent crypto's illegal. If you think the governments are "powerless to stop crypto", you're delusional.

The_Juggernaut Dsyno Jul 30, 2017 4:27 PM

Powerless, because they don't control access to the internet or anything.

GodSpeed_00 The_Juggernaut Jul 30, 2017 6:08 PM

Yes let's shut down the internet and effectively destroy our own economy to kill crypto.

The_Juggernaut GodSpeed_00 Jul 30, 2017 7:50 PM

Brilliant comeback, cryptosucker. All they have to do is deny access to exchanges and your beaniecoins will revert to their intrinsic value.

GodSpeed_00 The_Juggernaut Jul 30, 2017 8:28 PM

... like most people on here you know nothing.

Golden Phoenix The_Juggernaut Jul 30, 2017 9:54 PM

Many cryptocurrency holders have never used an exchange and probably never will. I'm guessing you buy all your dollars at the dollar store..

logicalman GodSpeed_00 Jul 30, 2017 7:56 PM

Gov can have you whacked if they really want to and make up some 'legal' excuse.

Now, I'd call that control, wouldn't you?

GreatUncle logicalman Jul 30, 2017 8:11 PM

Only works if you have something to lose ... an ever growing number of people have nothing to lose that being whacked is the least of their worries so government loses control.

Imagine a person with $100K of debt and no way to repay it even in a lifetime and you threaten them with being whacked ... lol ... 100K of debt burned and how much leverage?

GodSpeed_00 logicalman Jul 30, 2017 8:29 PM

Wow you slaves really like government, damn.

OpenThePodBayDoorHAL Dsyno Jul 30, 2017 5:05 PM

This article is stupid, look at the history of QQ Coin, 800 million users, oops government crackdown, gone.

The government already throws you in jail for having certain strings of numbers on your computer (child porn JPEGs for example).

And the article says "crypto allows people to keep all their money". Hello, gains are taxable anytime, try not paying your taxes sometime (unless you're a billionaire of course).

tmosley OpenThePodBayDoorHAL Jul 30, 2017 5:50 PM

>oops government crackdown, gone.

But that's wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tencent_QQ

Wiki says nothing about them shutting down. Also, it isn't a cryptocurrency. Not any more than your amazon gift card balance is a cryptocurrency. They are valued at one RMB each. They don't float.

tmosley Dsyno Jul 30, 2017 5:45 PM

>A group of people are deciding the future of Bitcoin

Welcome to the world of free banking. If an issuer fucked up back then, the value of their privately issued currency could plummet. It is much the same today, except its better for the consumer. If the miners fuck up the protocal, it can just be forked and a non-fucked up version can be put before the market for consideration and potential adoption.

Here's the thing. If governments create their own cryptocurrencies, then it WILL be impossible to stop private cryptos. Decentralized exchanges that handle both govt cryptos and "illegal" private ones will inevitably pop up, and there won't be any way to stop them. The fact that a banking interface is highly convenient for shunting purchasing power from fiat to crypto is the only thing that allows them to have any sort of control at all right now. But the system is too leaky--easy to get around barriers by trading goods bought on Amazon, or gift cards, or even local meetups for cash.

TeamDepends tmosley Jul 30, 2017 8:26 PM

Yes. Better to have a group of people decide the future of a crypto than a group of central bankers saying, "OK, this is how it's going to be...".

Sam.Spade Dsyno Jul 30, 2017 9:21 PM

I suggest you read Antifragile by Tailb. It applies directly to the cryptospace.

He describes how all living things and structures made up of living things adapt and grow stronger under stress. To paraphrase the work in one statement: "Blows that do not kill me make me stronger".

The point applies to cryptocurrencies in spades. Because the technology is out of the bag, because there is a demand for anonymous free remote payments that won't go away, every action by the Feds against them will only cull the herd and make the survivors stronger until they become unassailable.

Take a look at the book. Rated 4.3 in 937 reviews at https://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Disorder-Incerto/dp/08129....

Golden Phoenix Dsyno Jul 30, 2017 9:50 PM

Please make a list of all things successfully ended by government prohibition.

Golden Phoenix Dsyno Jul 30, 2017 10:01 PM

'People' deciding the future instead of the government. That's horrible. You sure convinced me.

Jimmy Jimmereeno Arturo Jul 30, 2017 4:38 PM

Your sentiment's in the right place but you're lacking facts. There are now options (derivatives) on crypto in the works.

eclectic syncretist Automatic Choke Jul 30, 2017 3:20 PM

The governments and banksters are letting the fish run with the line and fully swallow the bait before they set the hook. Hopefully I am wrong about this and posters here don't get hurt by what I see coming, but with postings like this one, wherein the author is so clearly just talking his book when he goes so far as to claim that the government can't step in and regulate crypto's, when China has already done so on multiple occasions, albeit in a minor fashion, is lying.

Implied Violins eclectic syncretist Jul 30, 2017 4:10 PM

It is laughable to me how many people continue to staunchly stand by crypto's and how they are 'the wave of the future', when it has been demonstrated many times that governments can, AT WILL, track down anyone using them and PROSECUTE THEM. Anything digital, including the words in this post, can be hacked and traced at ANY TIME.

I am starting to believe that this crypto thing is SO important to the roll-out of the One World Government that they are paying massive numbers of trolls to write articles like this and then troll forums - like ZH - to affirm the 'virtues' of cryptos. I just hope that they make sure they are getting paid in gold, so they will eventually have something for their efforts.

GodSpeed_00 Implied Violins Jul 30, 2017 4:37 PM

Millions of people use crypto, please give me a percentage of these millions that have been arrested and prosectued?

Implied Violins GodSpeed_00 Jul 30, 2017 5:24 PM

Here's one right here, Silk Road:

https://www.wired.com/2015/01/prosecutors-trace-13-4-million-bitcoins-si...

"...former FBI special agent Ilhwan Yum described how he traced 3,760 bitcoin transactions over 12 months ending in late August 2013 from servers seized in the Silk Road investigation to Ross Ulbricht's Samsung 700z laptop, which the FBI seized at the time of his arrest in October of that year. In all, he followed more than 700,000 bitcoins along the public ledger of bitcoin transactions, known as the blockchain, from the marketplace to what seemed to be Ulbricht's personal wallets."

It's a small percentage at present, but that article is proof that governments can, at will, trace bitcoin transactions via the blockchain.

All that's needed is for the government to decide such transactions are illegal, then they can investigate and prosecute EVERYONE who has ever performed a transaction via bitcoin - because the entire history of where that bitcoin went is traceable right back to its origin.

tmosley Implied Violins Jul 30, 2017 5:54 PM

Everyone with any knowledge on the subject knows this is possible, and that it is stupid to try to use pseudonymous cryptocurrencies to commit crimes. Use Monero, Dash, or some other anonymous crypto if you want to do that shit.

If governments step in to try to crack down on this sort of activity, it will just drive the market to those more privacy-focused coins.

GodSpeed_00 Implied Violins Jul 30, 2017 6:14 PM

Yeah just like they said they would lock up everyone who downloads illegal movies, yet I streamed some movies last night along with millions of others world wide. They can prosectue those people because they were buying drugs etc. Now try prosecuting everyone who owns crypto just because they own it, you must have a really large jail and lots of judges, lots of police to do raids. Then you have to prove it was me using the crypto and not just someone connected to my Wifi. Maybe I go to a mall jump on their wifi and buy crypto. You guys really think the government is a god huh?

Sam.Spade Implied Violins Jul 30, 2017 9:27 PM

You give the reason why Monero has exploded in value and will probably eventually take over the mantle from Bitcoin. And, if it's brought down by some weakness, such as the inability to scale, one of the future thousands of replacement wannabes will rise to take it's place, resistant to that particular problem.

Cryptocurrencies are like bacteria. There are billions of strains of the latter, but only a few that are really dangerous to man. But the latter exist because the former provided a development pool to make the latter effective.

Sorry, cryptohaters and tyrant wannabes, but pandora has opened the box and the contents can't be put back again no matter how hard you try.

Golden Phoenix Implied Violins Jul 30, 2017 10:18 PM

All your crap is based upon people being criminals doing things which are illegal in any currency. The average consumer just wants to go online and order a widget cheap from China and have it shipped to the US. Do you think the government really cares about someone buying micro USB cables from Alibaba? Or buying an Amazon gift certificate so they can have some baby formula and diapers shipped to their doorstep? Do you think it'd have the capacity to stop it if it did?

Secret Weapon GodSpeed_00 Jul 30, 2017 10:07 PM

The word you looking for is audited. If you sold any cryptos expect a letter from the IRS.

Secret Weapon GodSpeed_00 Jul 30, 2017 10:07 PM

The word you looking for is audited. If you sold any cryptos expect a letter from the IRS.

Dsyno Automatic Choke Jul 30, 2017 3:22 PM

.

hmmmstrange Automatic Choke Jul 30, 2017 3:39 PM

Because they either control most of the gold or can control most of the gold if need be.

Jimmy Jimmereeno Automatic Choke Jul 30, 2017 4:41 PM

Correct. The US gov outlawed gold ownership for 42 years. What's to stop .gov from doing something similar with crypto?

GodSpeed_00 Jimmy Jimmereeno Jul 30, 2017 4:45 PM

What's to stop them is they can't sieze it. Not if I hold the private keys in any variety of methods.

Jimmy Jimmereeno GodSpeed_00 Jul 30, 2017 4:59 PM

.gov doesn't need to seize crypto as they did gold. All that's needed is to criminalize use.

GodSpeed_00 Jimmy Jimmereeno Jul 30, 2017 5:57 PM

Criminalizing worked so well for drugs, gambling, alcohol, human trafficking etc. etc. etc. All multi-billion dollar markets.

dussasr Ghost of PartysOver Jul 30, 2017 3:16 PM

Did you forget about 1933 when the government confiscated gold? When fiat starts circling the drain they'll do it again.

bionicknees dussasr Jul 30, 2017 3:54 PM

They won't get it.

CaperAsh bionicknees Jul 30, 2017 4:41 PM

Maybe you won't give it to them and maybe they won't know you have it.

But will you be able to use for anything in the event of some sort of cash dysfunction, that's the question.

Probably not.

I suspect junk silver coins might be the most liquid hard money solution because in that scenario you could conceivably use them to buy stuff with, like basic groceries. What could you get with a one ounce gold coin? It's worth too much. What do you trade it in for? Worthless (or illegal) cash?

Bitcoin is a threat because as long as there is internet (admittedly a big if since it can surely be shut down any time they want, and/or they can surely shut down most crypto exchanges/isp's etc.) it can be liquid. But again: can you buy groceries with it if you need to? Probably not.

Farm, that's the way to go! Buy a goddam farm in goddam Ecuador, wear a straw hat, chew on long stems of grass, main entertainment will be mooing back at the cows to see if they react at all, and not have to worry about money at all. Let's face it: the hippies had it all figured out decades ago! Chill!

GodSpeed_00 CaperAsh Jul 30, 2017 6:31 PM

Can you buy groceries with silver and gold? There is a youtube video with Mark Dice where he goes on the street with a Silver bar and a Hershey Bar and ask people which one they want. ALL of them took the Hershey bar, you think people will trade food in crisis for your shiny metal? You think in a collapse you will be blissfully walking into a supermarket and giving people shiny metals for food and water among the mass rioting? lol okay. If this nightmare scenario happens the only thing that will have value is food, water and ammo.

SILVERGEDDON GodSpeed_00 Jul 30, 2017 6:56 PM

In the event of a godspeed secret agent collapse scenario, all the smart kids know you use lead for trading security.

GodSpeed_00 bionicknees Jul 30, 2017 4:46 PM

Yeah they will. Unless you went and got the gold out of the ground yourself it can all be traced.

bionicknees dussasr Jul 30, 2017 3:59 PM

They won't get it.

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