[ThrustVectoring]

Bitcoin should be made illegal. I don't want the ability to anonymously and irreversibly pay someone. If I have this ability, then bad actors have an incentive to try to force me to do so. We've seen this in the wild already - both kidnappers and computer virus writers have included "send BTC to this address" as a demand.

Not every ability and option is positive-value to have. Cryptocurrencies are not only a negative-value option, but also waste vast amounts of electricity and computer hardware in order to provide it.

[d0lph]

Cash is anonymous as well. Exchange of cash can be anonymous.

And just because something can be used in a harmful way, doesn't mean it should be illegal.

[ThrustVectoring]

Cash is significantly harder to handle and move, while being easier to track.

And I agree with you there. State action is useful primarily to solve coordination problems and handle negative externalities. The existence of bitcoin markets is a pretty significant negative externality due to the coercion it facilitates.

[d0lph]

But cash still exists as a potential threat right?

> bitcoin markets is a pretty significant negative externality

You know for a fact the benefits of bitcoin outweigh the positives? Could you share some of this data perhaps?

[cup-of-tea]

Actually Bitcoin isn't anonymous. It is very similar to physical property.

[ThrustVectoring]

Having a third participant that you can sue or subpoena is the important part. Is there a good word for this sort of thing? Facilitated by a third party with significant assets subject to the legal system? I heavily favor using such parties for my personal financial affairs - it's not that I trust them more, but it's that I have more recourse when things go wrong.

[beefalo]

Sounds like the definition of escrow

[d0lph]

It is because users aren't linked to their bitcoins, it is however very traceable.

[jabgrabdthrow]

If you don’t own crypto this can’t happen to you. What other things are you afraid of happening to me? Can you please ban me from visiting the Middle East?

[ThrustVectoring]

I have the option of exchanging money for bitcoin and then sending it somewhere. Lots of ransomware includes detailed instructions for how to do this, along with phone support to walk you through this process. This isn't a hypothetical, and I don't own crypto, and I don't want someone to encrypt my hard drive and then give me instructions for buying crypto and sending it to them.

[pwinnski]

You do realize that the act of encrypting your hard drive and demanding ransom for it is illegal, right? So requiring illegal crypto for the ransom is no obstacle.

[ThrustVectoring]

You're missing the point - it's not about making receiving the cryptocurrency illegal. It's about making buying the cryptocurrency illegal or otherwise infeasible. The unit economics of ransomware stop making sense when more of the victims are unable or unwilling to pay. Making cryptocurrency illegal makes ransomware victims less able and willing to pay the ransom.

[cowboysauce]

So malware writers will switch to different techniques to obtain ransom. For example, there was an online illicit marketplace akin to silkroad that ran years before cryptocurrencies were even invented. It used Western union money transfers, if I'm remembering correctly, and ran for years before law enforcement was able to shut it down.

[true_religion]

Western Union transactions required someone be physically present to pick it up, so you could catch them. How do you freeze a Bitcoin wallet or find who is using it in a straightforward manner?

[jabgrabdthrow]

I’ll just have you drop a suitcase of cash in a high foot traffic area with no camera. Much smoother than it sounds, nobody pays attention. You’ll still have to do a few other illegal things in any case though.