Quote from: lorax2013 on November 12, 2013, 08:06:27 PM

Quote from: bassclef on November 12, 2013, 05:20:30 PM

Remember that the us government (or any large government for that matter) is made up of individuals acting in their own interests, often within huge beauracracies, which then operate in their own best interests and often compete with each other for power, money, etc. 99% of these people have probably never heard of Bitcoin and don't care about much beyond a nice paycheck and getting home to watch Homeland. Even Federal Reserve employees are like this, yes I know a few.

I say this because I keep reading about "they". "They" will outlaw Bitcoin. Who is they? There is no smoke filled room with old men deciding the fate of Bitcoin. The system is huge, complex, and has grown ever dependent on itself. It is a house of cards, a lumbering dinosaur, and not nearly as nefarious as some of you think.

One thing for sure is that without the dollar they are powerless: a silent coup. That is the beauty of Bitcoin.

The discussion keeps drifting from my original technical question, but OK I should have posted on the tech board - and for most people understanding if an attack would come is more important. Yes, the govt is a collective consciousness - I didn't want to get into this since it is part of the side issue of if or when "they" attack. The reason bitcoin wasn't taken down immediately, imo, is precisely because a collective consciousness is slow to act and bitcoin was hard to attack. Eventually the collective consciousness of the Establishment will recognize the threat and act more forcefully. Yes that may be years in the future but this is a different debate vs the originally technical question of how an attack would occur, could blame be shifted, and if there would be warning.

I guess the point I was trying to make is that if enough individuals within the government stand to profit from Bitcoin and it's in their interest to jump the fiat ship, any attack will likely never happen.

All you mathemagician coders tend to look at things too black and white