[ExI] Sell your Bitcoins!

[Keith Henson]

On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 1:56 PM Jason Resch via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> On Mon, May 18, 2026, 4:19 PM Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> It is perhaps worth considering the "market" for bitcoins.
>>
>> It is essentially a way to keep governments from tracking money.
>
> Bitcoin is very bad for that.

That was the original intent. Didn't work as well as intended.
Governments were highly motivated to expose Bitcoin transactions.

> All transactions are a matter of public record. Most people enter and exit through exchanges which follow "know your customer" laws, making tracing to real identities quite straight-forward.
>
Still, you don't hear much about people being nabbed for illegal
Bitcoin transactions. Though it may be that I am just not paying close
attention.

Keith

>> The
>> value of Bitcoin will rise depending on how much money people are
>> trying to hide.
>
> Some other use cases to consider:
>
> - Inflation hedge
> - Portfolio diversification
> - A means to save in a country with unstable currency
> - Simplified international transfers
> - Ability to save and transact in remote areas with limited access to banks
> - Ability to flee country during political instability or turmoil with0out losing everything
> - A mechanism for non-persons (AI/Robots) to transact online
> Jason
>
>>
>> This was the intent of Bitcoin from the very start.
>>
>>
>> It has worked so far.
>>
>> Keith
>>
>> On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 12:36 PM Jason Resch via extropy-chat
>> <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Mon, May 18, 2026, 1:28 PM John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 10:11 AM Jason Resch via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>>>> > >> You've been telling people to sell their bitcoins since 2017.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>> >> I think you must be confusing me with somebody else, in 2017 I still foolishly believed bitcoin might be a net positive force in the world. I was dead wrong. In 2017 I never predicted the price of bitcoin would collapse, and certainly not  collapse because of quantum computers. In 2017 I wasn't certain that building a fault tolerant quantum computer would even be possible, much less practical. But things have changed radically since 2017.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> > On September 13th, 2017 on this very e-mail list, you wrote "If you ever hear that Microsoft has built a topological quantum computer that can factor the number 15 then sell your Bitcoins, hold onto your hat, and get ready for a wild ride."
>> >>> Note that IBM had factored the number 15 in 2001,
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> You think I didn't know that in 2017? That 2001 IBM quantum computer was NOT fault tolerant, nor did I imply in 2017 that a fault tolerant machine was likely to arrive soon, and if you intend to factor a number much greater than 15 you're going to need it to be fault tolerant; but today in 2026 I am saying something different, I am saying that such a machine will arrive soon. And when it does the shit is gonna hit the fan.
>> >>
>> >> As for a topological quantum computer I stand by what I wrote then, if somebody announces they have made a breakthrough and have invented a topological quantum computer then bitcoin is toast. But in 2017 I didn't know if such a machine was possible, and in 2026 I still don't know if a topological quantum computer is practical or even possible, but that's not the only way to make a fault tolerant machine.
>> >>
>> >>> > so in effect, you were telling people then that it was too late and to sell their bitcoins.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> BULLSHIT! You are being disingenuous, and that really pisses me off.
>> >
>> >
>> > I did not know that a topological quantum computer was categorically different from IBM's, which was clear from my asking why I didn't know why it was important whether it was IBM or Microsoft that factored 15. Clearly then it was a misunderstanding on my part and not me being disingenuous. But I do consider your deleting that part of my email as likely motivated by disingenuous reasons.
>> >
>> > Jason
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > extropy-chat mailing list
>> > extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
>> > http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat
>
> _______________________________________________
> extropy-chat mailing list
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
> http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat