
The US has blacklisted digital currency addresses for three Chinese nationals - jonbaer
https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614215/the-us-has-blacklisted-digital-currency-addresses-for-three-chinese-nationals/
======
prepend
In case you were as interested as I was in what it means to have your bitcoin
address blacklisted, the coinbase [0] describes it to mean that anyone
transacting with these addresses is subject to criminal prosecution and up to
$1.1M per offense. It seems like it would just mean that any transactions on
those wallets and downstream are a big felony US case.

I would like to read the article of what happens.

[0] [https://www.coindesk.com/us-treasury-blacklists-bitcoin-
lite...](https://www.coindesk.com/us-treasury-blacklists-bitcoin-litecoin-
addresses-of-chinese-drug-kingpins)

~~~
gnode
I can imagine it being problematic that crypto-currencies like Bitcoin don't
require the recipient's consent to make them party to a transaction.
Additionally, interaction with payment channel networks like Lightning may
implicate innocent users in money laundering.

~~~
prepend
I agree. That’s part of why I want to see how this goes down. It could end up
being nothing. Or it could end up in many different crazy and interesting
ways.

It’s a spin on the Brewster’s Millions type problem. Lots of money to spend
with particular restrictions.

------
BubRoss
I think this is actually great. Not because of any direct result, because
there probably won't be much.

If the government is blacklisting addresses it legitimizes cryptocurrencies
and shows some investment in applying existing laws to them.

They could just send transactions to any exchange that isn't up to date with
the ban and get another currency all together, so it seems moot, but the
intention is interesting.

------
olliej
Ok, ignoring anything else, how would this be enforced? How many intermediate
addresses+transactions would be needed to make that work? Especially with the
various exchanges where you could bounce between currencies.

~~~
BubRoss
You could taint any famous or high value address you want while also
exchanging for different currencies. If you use a mixer, everyone else using
the mixer would be tainted too. It's a nonsense solution, but an interesting
attempt.

