Quote from: chydenius on June 03, 2013, 01:40:51 PM

Quote from: Come-from-Beyond on June 03, 2013, 12:52:18 PM

Quote from: chydenius on June 03, 2013, 11:30:23 AM

This comes by way of someone close to Bitcoin discussions in Washington, DC. Apparently, FinCEN agents are looking for members of the Bitcoin community to form a self-regulatory organization with voluntary approval procedures to work with financial regulators.

If anyone at the Bitcoin Foundation sees this post, I would be willing to serve with such an organization.

Fuck Washington, DC.
Fuck FinCEN.
Fuck Bitcoin Foundation.

So long as one is not subject to US jurisdiction, this sentiment is a matter of personal taste. However, if one transacts with Americans and especially if one resides within the USA, this sentiment can lead to unfortunate consequences, unless one has closed all of one's bank and credit card accounts.

Obviously, Bitcoin per se is beyond direct regulation, and all the regulation talk is about the USD/Bitcoin interface. However, until we can pay for food, clothing, housing, etc. directly with Bitcoinand I do not mean using Bitcoin to buy Gyft cards, as wonderful a development as that iswe will not escape that interface, if we want to integrate Bitcoin into our financial lives. One day, perhaps, but not today.

FinCEN, the Fed, the US Treasury, FATF, et al. are notoriously jealous of their legacy system, as profoundly broken as it is, and if we insist on using it, then we will be subject to their regulations and statutes. I'm not suggesting that this is a good thing.

What do the individuals who bluster impotently on these discussion boards think that they are achieving? Waggling one's little bottom at Sauron does not make the Forces of Darkness quake in fear. It makes the community look like a pack of snot-nosed little punks.

Real revolutionaries embrace disruptive engineering, entrepreneurship, and entertainment.

Rather than fling boogers at men with guns, badges, drones, and warrantless wiretaps, we should be spending our efforts developing P2P exchange networks, real financial services (including car loans and mortgages), full-service retail outlets (for food, clothing, and other consumer goods), and large-scale outreach initiatives to get the masses on our side.

Until then, and as long as Mt. Gox 'suffers a DDOS attack' every time someone refreshes its website more than twice in a minute, bluster makes us look silly.

+1