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Don't forget rampant speculation and tulip mania. The author of the article speaks disparagingly of a "money grab" by the government, as if money grabbing wasn't what most bitcoin traders are after.

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Government grabs money by force. That is the difference I guess.

Government is the legitimate exercise of force. That's kind of the whole reason it exists.

That doesn't mean this particular use of force is legitimate. Unless you mean that all uses of force by the government are legitimate, in which case you'll have much to defend.

They're almost all legitimate uses of force by definition, unless the government breaks the law. This is orthogonal to moral or utilitarian concerns, however.

But whenever I see people upset government uses force, I think: of course it does. It's like birds using wings or Emacs users using the control key.

My point is that people may be upset at this particular use of force, not of the use in general. That it is legal is beside the point.

I much prefer the government collecting a fair share of money to uphold public goods than criminals running away with all my money (happened to me with shares in a Chinese miner).

Hm, what's the difference? That the money goes somewhere you like?

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