It's official: the racketeers are onto Bitcoin

published Aug 13, 2013

Now that they understand Bitcoin threatens their monopoly on terrorism and extortion (by providing people with an alternative to protect themselves from their racket), they're revving up engines to sabotage and ruin Bitcoin's advantages. Here, I translate the proposed "law" from legalese to people doing things.

The following is directly from the text of the law at the time this was written.

Money laundering.--The Committee understands that Bitcoins and other forms of peer-to-peer digital currency are a potential means for criminal, terrorist or other illegal organizations and individuals to illegally launder and transfer money. News reports indicate that Bitcoins may have been used to help finance the flight and activity of fugitives. The Committee directs the FBI, in consultation with the Department and other Federal partners, to provide a briefing no later 120 days after the enactment of this Act on the nature and scale of the risk posed by such ersatz currency, both in financing illegal enterprises and in undermining financial institutions. The briefing should describe the FBI efforts in the context of a coordinated Federal response to this challenge, and identify staffing and other resources devoted to this effort.

Translation:

People using their money in ways we don't like.--We understand that Bitcoins and other forms of peer-to-peer digital currency can be used by people we dislike who do things we have prohibited, sometimes competing with us on terror activities, to transfer and spend money in ways we cannot spy upon or stop. News reports show that Bitcoins have been used to help Edward Snowden. We want the people doing business as "the FBI" to conspire with a bunch of other d.b.a's to tell us, in less than 120 days after this new commandment we just made up, how this "ersatz currency" (hehe, see what we did there?) affects our organized racket, in terms of both helping the businesses of people we have declared as "enemies" and in out-competing our buddies the bankers. The info must outline a conspiracy to sabotage Bitcoin's features, identifying people, money and other resources that will be necessary for this sabotage.

Conclusion: the most powerful terrorist organization that has ever existed in the world, with the actual power to literally murder everyone if they so chose, is preparing to attack Bitcoin directly. It's about to get real.