QC can be used(theoretically) crack ECDSA (compute private key from public), but QC cannot compute public key from  RIPEMD-160, SHA-256

They are not isolated incidents.

They are proof that Bitcoin has hit the radar.

At this point everything that is legally sketchy has been shut down.

The banks are no longer pretending that they are willing to do business with anything that threatens their oligopoly. (Unless it pays well enough.)

The record labels lost. But artists are actually better off.

The US government tried to stop PGP. It lost.

This time it's the banks that own the governments. They can shut down the internet, or they can lose. And if they shut down the internet, they will be explaining to Boeing and Airbus, Exxon and Total. The banksters have not yet won the arms race.

US Govt doesn't take something down piecemeal. Review Kim Dotcom and poker to see how they work. Just taking the Dwolla account lets MtGox change domains (off .com), move servers, move money (their accounts in Japan likely have much much much more money). DHS/DOJ don't play nice and give people "warning shots". MtGox being incompetent isn't news. They shouldn't have let people use Dwolla. The reason they were probably interested in the Coinlab deal was because they knew they weren't legal. Coinlab probably knew his and probably reported them. Again, MtGox being incompetent isn't news. It would be news if they weren't.  
 
Blocking US ips was a smart move by SatoshiDice. It's not worth the legal risk. Americans can still gamble, they can find out how, the website was garbage anyway.

MtGox/Coinlab lawsuit will likely drag on for years, has very little to do with the market and/or Bitcoin.

CampBX uses Dwolla. They're based in the USA. DHS could shut down their entire operation. But they're still up, they're still letting people use Dwolla to get Bitcoins. So clearly it's not an attack on Bitcoins. It's merely MtGox getting caught doing something they shouldnt.

Med/Long term it was good news. People leaving MtGox, moving to other exchanges. We need more bad news for MtGox, so more people will move.

Every bit increases the known magnitude of incompetence though. God knows how incompetent they really are, at least they managed to stay in business if that means anything.


This has wider percussions than satoshidice though if they are affected so is the entirety of Bitcoin gambling sites operating on clearnet.



Maybe, the sum is quite substantial and I think it can threaten mtgox as a business, perhaps bankruptcy? We don't yet know how the market would be without gox. I'd say it's a considerable risk.


Yes, I agree, at least in terms of what's good for the ecosystem. I don't really have an idea what prices would do when it's gone.

Isn't that how conservative gambling sites operate?
Well would still be a legal gray area though. Not that it matters much.

... and YES they did it :-)

This is what I think happened. The new FinCEN rules came out. It meant if you exchange virtual currency, you better be registered as a MSB with FinCEN. MtGox didn't want to do that, so they were working a deal to offload all their US accounts to CoinLab. Thus solving the problem. Turns out they back out of the deal, keep using Dwolla to handle US accounts, and end up getting caught. I have no doubt Coinlab dropped a friendly "tip" to DHS about MtGox. This is probably why they only went after their Dwolla, they failed to register as a MSB. Typical Gox failure, instead of properly try to solve the problem, they tried to work a deal, backed out, it blew up in their face. In terms of the Bitcoin market it's fairly minor. It's a boost to other exchanges, people will get registered, people will be legit, it's good for everyone overall.


You shouldn't let Americans gamble with a virtual currency on your site. Does everyone forget what happened with poker? All gambling sites on the internet should ban US IPs. It's not worth the trouble. For satoshidice you can still bet, still get paid, Bitcoin doesn't know your IP. I'm sure someone will create a site that scans the blockchain so you can view "recent bets". That's about the only thing useful on the site. People will post the addresses to place bets. People thinking that it would always be legal for Americans to bet Bitcoins online were being foolish. People getting legal, setting up the site properly, protecting themselves from future legal matters, that's all good. Like most poker sites online, block americans, problem solved. There's a reason WebMoney blocks Americans. It's not worth the trouble.


In those types of lawsuits, claiming damages it's usually a ridiculous amount. I doubt MtGox backing out cost them much more then maybe a million or two. This stuff usually gets resolved way before a case, I'm sure they'll settle out of court. Otherwise the lawyers end up the only ones making money. Also even if they lost, collecting the money is another matter. MtGox has a number of lawyers, I don't think this puts their business at risk. At least not for years. I'm sure a lawyer who knows more then I can comment on these types of contract disputes. From what I know, CoinLab ever seeing 75m is extremely unlikely. They'd have to win, and a judge agree, MtGox appeal, MtGox lose appeal, and MtGox pay. That's a 5-8 year process.