Fanboys Anonymous

In my previous article on bitcoins I explained what they are and summarized how the bitcoin system works. Based on my opinion, I thought that the situation with bitcoins was a bit shaky. Indeed, I was not mistaken. Along with the increase in the development of bitcoins, the number of countries who are trying to regulate their use is increasing as well, even though the whole purpose of bitcoins was that they could not be regulated by any central bank, let alone any government.



The escalating feud between these two sides will soon lead to what Business Insider has called a Bitcoin Civil War! The feud started with two events: The first was the hearing for Bitcoin license, which according to the podcast "E79-A Bitcoin World" on LetsTalkBitcoin took place on January 28. During the first hearing, the courts proclaimed that companies who use bitcoins should all have bitcoin licenses. After the hearing, according to some tweets, supporters of bitcoins were not that worried about this:


The second event was the arrest of Charlie Shrem, CEO of BitInstant, on charges for money laundering. According to reports, Shrem was "accused of selling over $1 million in bitcoins to Silk Road users, who would then use them to buy drugs and illicit items."

With Shrem's arrest and more government control over bitcoins, it seems now that it is becoming more difficult for any other bitcoin start-up companies to establish themselves.

Another concern that comes to mind regarding government regulation is the anonymity of bitcoin itself. Bitcoins were different than regular money because they offered people the freedom to do whatever they wanted, developing or purchasing as many bitcoins as they needed, without the scrutiny of government institutions such as banks, taxes, etc.

As Amir Taaki says on LetsTalkBitcoin: "Bitcoin is a tool of resistance gifted to us by Satoshi (the founder of bitcoins). The idea has escaped and the idea of countercurrency will not be stopped. Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency will succeed."

Tell us what you think about regulations for bitcoins!