I’ve been writing for a long time about how Bitcoin, if adopted widely, would be a grave threat to property rights. You see, while property rights are an inalienable human right, Bitcoin is an anarchic currency that resists any attempts to enforce such property rights. Criminal transactions cannot be reversed, and unlawfully obtained Bitcoins cannot be sent back to their rightful owners.

The criminals have caught on, and it’s now time we considered banning Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is commonly known as a “cryptocurrency.” This is because Bitcoin’s workings are based on math similar to that used by cryptographic codes. And in fact, the security of one’s Bitcoin ‘wallet’ is protected by cryptography. Good cryptography is difficult to break, even by governments with large amounts of computing resources.

While it’s been long known that Bitcoin’s value is based on the sex trafficking, weapons, and drug trades, other criminals have been slow to take advantage of Bitcoin’s properties. That slowness gave us time to think, but we’re out of time. They’ve caught on.

This month we’ve already seen two major blackmail attempts using Bitcoin as the demand, one Ashley Madison related attacker and a bomber in the Netherlands.

Bitcoin is the perfect blackmail payment method. It’s pseudonymous, has ample money laundering options available known as “tumblers” or “mixers,” and the Bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed by the government.

So at this point we know Bitcoin is an ideologically anarchic project that doesn’t protect property rights, facilitates crime, and is going to encourage blackmail, as now blackmailers have a means of keeping and using the money they receive. It’s time we banned Bitcoin.

Those who wish to avoid using federal reserve notes can use gold, silver, or other commodities. Heck, we can even address the Capital Gains tax as it relates to inflation, to ensure that those holding commodities in place of cash aren’t burned by that. I’m not a goldbug but I’m fine with working with them, if we can abolish a legitimate threat to safety and order. That’s what Bitcoin is.

Ban it now before the next bomber strikes.

Image by Antana on Flickr