A U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York said Shrem (CEO of Bitcoin exchange BitInstant), along with alleged co-conspirator Robert Faiella, sold more than $1 million worth of bitcoins to Silk Road customers. Faiella, a Florida man who allegedly runs an underground Bitcoin exchanger using the alias BTCKing, was also arrested.
The fallout continues in the Silk Road saga. Is it even possible for a Bitcoin exchange to know they are "laundering" money for Silk Road customers? What does being charged with running an unlicensed money transmitting business say for the future of Bitcoin, at least in the U.S.?
I agree with the point he is trying to make but you are spot on. It's obvious why he choose the comparison he did, to get the most sensationalism out of the least amount of detail possible. Even as a summary it is poorly done as anyone with a brain is going to see some huge gaping holes in that proposal. In his case he went with the throw his arms up in the air and shout "LOOK!! 140k are replaced by 13 people, the middle class is doomed by the companies that rely on it most so they will fail too!". While his point could very well be right, the approach he took ends up sounding like a Chicken Little "The sky is falling!" argument which leads to most people paying as much attention to it as the local crazy guy telling you the world is ending everyday for 5 years as you walk past him on the way to work.
I have a feeling that one day in the distant future people will read our current understanding of cancer as laid out in the summary and shake their heads that our understanding was ever so limited the same way we do when reading how bleeding patients out was the cure for just about everything in ancient times.
Also, agreed with a Cold Fjord post and if I have learned anything from the
New York... when civilization falls apart, remember, we were way ahead of you. - David Letterman