Quote from: justusranvier on June 25, 2013, 02:34:05 AM

Quote from: bitlizard on June 25, 2013, 02:28:51 AM

I'm very skeptical that bitcoin can even comply. It may not be possible to create the necessary consensus within the community. The power to regulate is the power to destroy and I think the community understands that on a fairly conscious level. That's why the regulation topic is such a contentious issue on the forums and reddit. Regulatory compliance is merely the thin edge of the wedge that would eventually split bitcoin in two if we let it. Was Satoshi's vision for bitcoin based upon principals or compromise? We all know the answer. Bitcoin will be regulated, but only to the extent it is declared illegal and outlawed in the US and probably other parts of the western world as well. The regulation topic is a nebulous intellectual tar baby, it's a blackhole sucking up a lot a brain power that would best be focused on other things, like developing bitcoin services for people in parts of the world who would actually be appreciative instead of telling you that you need to apply for a MTB license.

Fortunately large parts of the community are located outside the United States. Enough, I think, to veto any attempt by coerced US-based developers to fundamentally destroy Bitcoin by changing into something the opposite of what it currently is.

I've been saying for almost a year that the brain power you are talking about should forget about trying to hit the moving target of regulatory compliance in the US and should instead develop censorship-resistant business models that are viable even in the presence of a hostile regulatory environment.

If this was facebook I would friend you right here and now!