Uncomfortable dawn: implication of London’s first Bitcoin seizure
Bitcoin has ensured, for the first time, seizing property requires the subject’s compliance.
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A London judge ordered on Friday the confiscation of Bitcoin and other digital currencies worth nearly $1 million from a prolific computer hacker, in the first case of its kind for the United Kingdom’s biggest police force.
What’s interesting in the linked Reuters story is this line about the hacker, "He must obey the confiscation order or face an extra four years in prison.”
It appears the court has no way of actually seizing the man’s Bitcoin. No private key, no access to coins. Bitcoin has ensured, for the first time, seizing property requires the subject’s compliance.
For cryptocurrency enthusiasts, that is a great thing. You have absolute control over your assets.
That points directly to an erosion of power on the part of the authorities and the state. To certain others, that is scary.
Would you endure four years’ prison for $1 million? Maybe this British hacker will.
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But Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, is in favour of replacing the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency with a Libra-like virtual one. The greenback is currently the dominant medium of exchange for international transactions. Carney is leaving his post, though, which might explain his candor.
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Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, a Torontonian, speaks to his hometown newspaper for what is likely the first time.