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0 pointscyphertruck4y ago0 comments

Blacklisting doesn’t change fungibility. It just means some exchanges are refusing to do business with people who believe in privacy.

A government can scream and shout but they cannot block a bitcoin transaction.

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matheusmoreira4y ago

Fungibility means coins are indistinguishable from each other. Bitcoin does not have this property: the origin of each coin can be traced all the way back to its minting.

Governments cannot block transactions but they can stop people from accepting the coins. Money that can't be spent is worthless.

DubiousPusher4y ago

Yes and in some cases that matters. But for most practical purposes, two coins are interchangeable. As in,if you're sending me bitcoin, I don't really care which coin in the wallet you send me.

I could use your argument to say U.S cash is not fungible because each bill has a serial number. And the government occasionally tracks bills with a given number.

heckerhut4y ago

Not true even within the bitcoin specification itself. Look at how transaction fees are calculated. Older coins pay less fees than newer coins. They are not fungible. It’s one of bitcoins biggest weaknesses. Even Adam Back agrees with that (Google some older ltb episodes)

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skohan4y ago

It's a bit different. Yes it's true that, for instance, if a pallet of USD with sequential serial numbers went missing, the FBI would probably knock on your door if you tried to put some of them in the bank. But as far as I know, if those dollars made it into circulation and you obtained them by legal means, it doesn't become illegal for you to spend them.

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legulere4y ago

> A government can scream and shout but they cannot block a bitcoin transaction.

Blacklisting bitcoins gained from mined blocks containing blacklisted addresses would easily do that.

Probably processing transactions from those addresses already is illegal with current laws. Why should you be able to earn transaction fees from that?

the_local_host4y ago

Blacklisting definitely changes fungibility. Some bitcoins are different than others, because of their history.

DubiousPusher4y ago

Why? If cash is stolen it becomes tainted. If it becomes too damaged for circulation it is no longer spendable. We don't then say this makes paper currency not fungible.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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matheusmoreira4y ago

Fungibility means coins are indistinguishable from each other. Bitcoin does not have this property: the origin of each coin can be traced all the way back to its minting.

Governments cannot block transactions but they can stop people from accepting the coins. Money that can't be spent is worthless.

DubiousPusher4y ago

Yes and in some cases that matters. But for most practical purposes, two coins are interchangeable. As in,if you're sending me bitcoin, I don't really care which coin in the wallet you send me.

I could use your argument to say U.S cash is not fungible because each bill has a serial number. And the government occasionally tracks bills with a given number.

heckerhut4y ago

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skohan4y ago

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legulere4y ago

> A government can scream and shout but they cannot block a bitcoin transaction.

Blacklisting bitcoins gained from mined blocks containing blacklisted addresses would easily do that.

Probably processing transactions from those addresses already is illegal with current laws. Why should you be able to earn transaction fees from that?

the_local_host4y ago

Blacklisting definitely changes fungibility. Some bitcoins are different than others, because of their history.

DubiousPusher4y ago

Why? If cash is stolen it becomes tainted. If it becomes too damaged for circulation it is no longer spendable. We don't then say this makes paper currency not fungible.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse