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Comment by ericb | Hacker News Reader

> all a sovereign nation needs to do to kill it is make convertibility to the local currency illegal.

This only works if all countries do it, and as is evident from the difficulty in getting coordinated world-wide action on climate-change, this is problematic. As an example, if I have tokens worth enough to say, buy a mansion in France, I can certainly find a local person who vacations in France that will take them for payment in exchange for some local asset.

What I'm saying is that it can easily be an asset without being a currency, and that is OK. A government can make it not viable as a local currency, but they can't make it not be an asset.

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This only works if all countries do it

Not true. Using your example, you'd first need to convert your Francs into x-coin. If convertibility is illegal, then congratulations you just entered a black market.

Which is fine if that's what you want to do, but now your risk just increased dramatically. Is that kind of risk taking scalable for a mass market? I doubt it.

As to it being an asset and not a currency, there are many things that do that, but x-coin isn't that because it has the functions of a currency: Store of value, medium of exchange and unit of accounting. In your example, you're using the coin as currency to intermediate an exchange of [mansion].

you'd first need to convert your Francs into x-coin.

Francs -> USD -> x-coin

Not a solution. You're just moving things around - and it looks even worse because now you're structuring or laundering.

Are you arguing that it would be illegal for french people to buy x-coin at ALL?

Thats completely different from "conversion" bans that you were talking about before.

Sure, you can ban the use of all tokens, but a conversion ban between 1 currency and another makes no sense.

Makes perfect sense and has been traditionally the way nations control political revolutions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_exchange_controls

the Greenback<>Greyback exchange situation during the civil war was also an interesting example of this.

I think anyone doing anything in cryptocoins needs a serious lesson in monetary history and policy.

If exchanges followed KYC, which they eventually will, then this would also not work. If you had to prove you are an American to use the USD -> x-coin pipeline, then good luck turning your Francs into x-coin.

But maybe Zimbabwean exchanges don't follow KYC. That's great for you, but going Franc -> ZD -> x-coin exposes you to a lot of other problems.

> you'd first need to convert your Francs into x-coin

I don't think I'll take advice on currencies from someone who thinks the French currency is the Franc.

Please, tell me more about who you will or won't take advice from. It's a very interesting topic apparently.

The forest is just in front of you.

I can also buy things online from other countries where it is legal and have them shipped to me.

> x-coin isn't that because it has the functions of a currency: Store of value, medium of exchange and unit of accounting.

That's a straw man because there's nothing in the definition of currency that is exclusive of being an asset.

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