Image: Victor Casale / Flickr
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
The libertarian streak evidenced by Shrem's YouTube video may be fading from Bitcoin's core—you won't hear any "core Bitcoiners" professing a willingness to go to jail—but the adherents still see regulation as a hindrance to innovation. While Wall Street complains that Bitcoin is under-regulated, the Bitcoiners volley back more vitriol at the banks: if Wall Street traders involved in the financial crisis can escape criminal prosecution, and bankers at HSBC can launder drug money with relatively minimal penalties, the powerful financial industry deserves a shake-up that government can't be expected to bring.This is part of its populist appeal, the political aspect that has captivated everyone from Satoshi to the Dread Pirate Roberts to Silicon Valley investors. To some, the Bitcoin cause is about changing banking for the whole wide world, but it also echoes a resistance against government and corporate intrusion that began in the days of public crypto and that has bloomed in the post-Snowden era.Even if Bitcoin were to fail and they rounded us all up and put us in a dark room for the rest of our lives, the idea of Bitcoin is too big right now…
Advertisement