WV Senator Calls For Ban On All Unregulated Cryptocurrencies

An anonymous reader writes "Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has called for for heavily regulation of Bitcoin. Reached for comment, his staff confirmed Manchin is seeking a 'ban' that would apply to any cryptocurrency that's both anonymous and unregulated."

Re:Phew! Thank goodness Bitcoin is not anonymous

[LordLucless]

Then using a credit card is anonymous too. Until someone decides to trace back the transaction, and subpoena VISA for evidence of a connection to a person. There is no real technical difference between a VISA card number, and a Bitcoin wallet id - just that generally, VISA requires you to tell them who you are when you create an account. But that's not a technical feature of the payment system, just of the rules VISA happens to place around it.

Bitcoin is pseudonymous - all transactions are tied to a publicly-visible unique identifier. If it was anonymous (like cash is) then transactions would be tied to nothing identifiable.

Re:Ban it as a first option..

[Anonymous Coward]

Can someone please explain to me why a ban is the first option for some lawmakers who don't understand a certain advancement, technology or social issue. State governments seem to use the "ban it first, ask questions later" philosophy on anything they don't fully comprehend. If this keeps up we will soon start banning theoretical physics.

The authoritarian leadership style [wikipedia.org] demands control and compliance. Doesn't matter whether you have an (R) or a (D) behind their name, a badge and a gun, or just a fancy title and a nice office. If you see your job as controlling the unruly masses for their own good, then anything that is beyond your control must be a threat - not only to your own power but to the citizenry itself. Anything beyond your comprehension is, by definition, beyond your control, and by extension, also a threat.

Also, re: theoretical physics, stop giving them ideas.

Re:But ... FREEDOM!

[thaylin]

No, he would also say that there are flaws, such as monopolies, that would also have to be watched and prevented.