End of Silk Road

[ChalkyDog]

I just heard about this. Crazy stories associated with this site, and those that understand what silk road was all about know.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-silk-road-bitcoin-20131003,0,7857459.story

Also, seemingly a bad road ahead for bitcoin peeps.

[ACoochy]

Haha almost every note in circulation has traces of some kind of illicit drug on it, so on the above premise we should ban money...

Guy that ran this operation was sloppy.

Dont think for a moment these guys didn't see this coming and have already implemented a plan in place to replace SR...

Just saying, law enforcement (unfortunately in this context) exists for a reason

[ACoochy]

Haha that was salooned Shari quick....

THought she had moved onto greener pastures...

[Russian Rocket]

cooch dump your bitcoins....told ya it's not gonna end well

[SamDiamond]

cooch dump your bitcoins....told ya it's not gonna end well

As in yesterday.

This is going to end horrifically bad for bitcoin holders.

But then again, who didn't see that coming?

Wait for PaulyPoker to chime in---Pauly still thinks Bitcoin is going to be the world's currency----

[ACoochy]

cooch dump your bitcoins....told ya it's not gonna end well

Rocket, got out a couple months back after the laws in my country became murky but will be getting back in once i know what's going on...

Rocket, not worth the hassle unless your one of those people that isnt into governmental control...

Rocket, i sometimes wonder just how many bitcoins the russian mafia have...Guys must be stacked

[ACoochy]

As in yesterday.

This is going to end horrifically bad for bitcoin holders.

But then again, who didn't see that coming?

Wait for PaulyPoker to chime in---Pauly still thinks Bitcoin is going to be the world's currency----

Sammy, i still believe it will be the worlds currency.

Has the fed starting printing money again?

[Russian Rocket]

Rocket, i sometimes wonder just how many bitcoins the russian mafia have...Guys must be stacked

Cooch Russians are smarter than that
Cooch we prefer cold hard cash
Cooch Nazdarovie!

[Russian Rocket]

Wait for PaulyPoker to chime in---Pauly still thinks Bitcoin is going to be the world's currency----

[bubblebuttluv]

I never used it since you have to be a fukking IT Pro to even log on.

[bigboydan]

I can't say it surprises me about bitcoin at all.

[Louisvillekid1]

Chalky I have no clue what your talking about

normally on point

dum it down for the kid

[PaperTrail07]

Guy was not sloppy at all....All Conspiracy Charges what fuckkn Bullshit.....Catch the guy with something for a change

Haha almost every note in circulation has traces of some kind of illicit drug on it, so on the above premise we should ban money...

Guy that ran this operation was sloppy.

Dont think for a moment these guys didn't see this coming and have already implemented a plan in place to replace SR...

Just saying, law enforcement (unfortunately in this context) exists for a reason

[PaperTrail07]

Yeah Lets stop the drug sales THAT DONT involve violence/payoffs Would hate to see all those payoff dollars getting slimmed down Would hate to see the local corner thugs lose a dollar or 2 Wouldnt want to force them into violent crime after their sales are down Mystery the stuff just appears in every city in every state all across the United States....in the hands of the poorest people in the Country Good Work Law Enforcement

[ACoochy]

Guy was not sloppy at all....All Conspiracy Charges what fuckkn Bullshit.....Catch the guy with something for a change

From Reddit :

Now, onto how he got caught...
An agent involved in the investigation ("Agent-1"), found the first few references to SR on the internet from somebody only identified as "altoid", attempting to promote the site in its beginning days, in January of 2011.
In October of the same year, a user also going by the name of "altoid" made a posting on Bitcoin Talk titled "a venture backed Bitcoin startup company", which directed interested users to "rossulbricht at gmail dot com".
That email address is what led to DPR's downfall.
---
After identifying "altoid", they started connecting the "DPR" identity to Ulbricht pretty quickly.
Ulbricht's Google+ page and YouTube profile both make multiple references to the a website dubbed the "Mises Institute". DPR's signature on the SR forums contained a link to the Mises Institute.
DPR cited the "Austrian Economic theory" along with the works of Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard, all of which are closesly associated with the Mises Institute.
Server logs show that someone logged onto the SR administration panel from San Fransisco around the same time that Ulbricht was staying in San Fransisco.
Multiple fake IDs were intercepted by U.S. Customs & Border Patrol while on their way to an address which Ulbricht was living at the time. These IDs all carried photos of Ulbricht but had false names and details. This was around the same time that DPR stated in a message that he was acquiring some fake IDs to buy new servers.
When questioned by Homeland Security about the fake IDs, he refused to answer any questions but then stated that anyone could purchase such things using "Silk Road" and "Tor".
The address which Ulbricht was staying at was being rented in cash and he was living with housemates who knew him under a name which corresponded with one of the fake IDs.
He posted on StackOverflow using his real name, inquiring about how to use curl/PHP to grab things off Tor, before quickly changing the name to "frosty" (with a fake email: frosty@frosty.com)

But yes i agree with you PT, nothing hugely tangible and indicting here. But being the USA (home of "freedom") he will more than likely spend the rest of his life being a part of the prison industrial complex...

[Ghenghis Kahn]

what purpose does bitcoin serve now?

i think 99% of bitcoin was used on silkroad no?

[ACoochy]

what purpose does bitcoin serve now?

i think 99% of bitcoin was used on silkroad no?

Bitcoin is no different to 'real' currency in terms of it being used to purchase illegal narcotics etc...

Is still being increasingly used in bars, clubs, pubs around the world. Alot of p2p sites now accepting bitcoin. If this place was smart it would do the same...

If anything the SR shutdown will be +EV for BTC in long term as it will look more enticing for institutional investors, given the 'criminal' element has been shutdown (yet we still allow banks to operate even after holding countries to ransom, go figure??)...

[Koldazzice]

I farmed like 300ish BTC a few years ago when the difficulty was much easier to solve and before Asics. I have them in my wallet and I'm going to hold on to them - I may drop half if /when it hits $200. I certainly wouldn't turn dollars, euros, etc into BTC but since I farmed them on my own computers they were free. So why not take a risk and hold onto them, Its all gravy.

[Koldazzice]

https://www.mtgox.com/ price is still holding nicely so I see no reason to panic.

[ACoochy]

Icer btc is simply a smaller model of what we use from day to day anyway.

Nice score with having the foresight in predicting the road ahead. Got yourself a chunky house deposit right there...

[ChalkyDog]

Chalky I have no clue what your talking about

normally on point

dum it down for the kid

Simplest terms: the online black market just got clipped, and the main currency used on said market will take a significant tumble if not cease to exist as a result.

[PaperTrail07]

If he does not run, I agree, it is what scares me about this life I live I hope to god he gets away NOBODY deserves the sick system of the US govt I know trust that

From Reddit :

Now, onto how he got caught...
An agent involved in the investigation ("Agent-1"), found the first few references to SR on the internet from somebody only identified as "altoid", attempting to promote the site in its beginning days, in January of 2011.
In October of the same year, a user also going by the name of "altoid" made a posting on Bitcoin Talk titled "a venture backed Bitcoin startup company", which directed interested users to "rossulbricht at gmail dot com".
That email address is what led to DPR's downfall.
---
After identifying "altoid", they started connecting the "DPR" identity to Ulbricht pretty quickly.
Ulbricht's Google+ page and YouTube profile both make multiple references to the a website dubbed the "Mises Institute". DPR's signature on the SR forums contained a link to the Mises Institute.
DPR cited the "Austrian Economic theory" along with the works of Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard, all of which are closesly associated with the Mises Institute.
Server logs show that someone logged onto the SR administration panel from San Fransisco around the same time that Ulbricht was staying in San Fransisco.
Multiple fake IDs were intercepted by U.S. Customs & Border Patrol while on their way to an address which Ulbricht was living at the time. These IDs all carried photos of Ulbricht but had false names and details. This was around the same time that DPR stated in a message that he was acquiring some fake IDs to buy new servers.
When questioned by Homeland Security about the fake IDs, he refused to answer any questions but then stated that anyone could purchase such things using "Silk Road" and "Tor".
The address which Ulbricht was staying at was being rented in cash and he was living with housemates who knew him under a name which corresponded with one of the fake IDs.
He posted on StackOverflow using his real name, inquiring about how to use curl/PHP to grab things off Tor, before quickly changing the name to "frosty" (with a fake email: frosty@frosty.com)

But yes i agree with you PT, nothing hugely tangible and indicting here. But being the USA (home of "freedom") he will more than likely spend the rest of his life being a part of the prison industrial complex...

[PaperTrail07]

bitcoin is/was silk road.....its done for now....but you cant stop reality

[ACoochy]

bitcoin is/was silk road.....its done for now....but you cant stop reality

The current price of $121 would disagree with your last statement...

No way SR closing will be -EV for the longterm projections of this currency.

Too many businesses are beginning to rely on it as a way of doing business (outside if US) so as long as theirs confidence in the market then it will continue its onward trajectory imo...GL

[PhillyFlyers]

Guys, I'm in a little over my head here.

Why is everyone talking about this?

Can someone explain to me exactly what "silk road" is/was and why it was targeted by the feds?

Also, can someone explain what the fukk it has to do with bitcoin?

[elgreco]

Guys, I'm in a little over my head here.

Why is everyone talking about this?

Can someone explain to me exactly what "silk road" is/was and why it was targeted by the feds?

Also, can someone explain what the fukk it has to do with bitcoin?

I'll make it pretty simple.

What is the silk road?
The Silk Road is/was an underground marketplace where you could buy all sorts of legal/illegal goods and services.

Why was it targeted?
It was targeted by the feds because, well, the feds don't like people who facilitate the trade of cocaine, heroin, guns, hired assassins, etc.. (just a small sample of what they dealt in).

Why is everyone talking about this?
It's a pretty damn cool story. I highly recommend reading more about it. It's definitely one of those "Truth is crazier than fiction" stories.

WTF does it have to do with bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the only currency they accepted. The Silk Road is actually what put bitcoin on the map.

My personal opinion:
This is good for bitcoin. This helps us move on from the "Bitcoin is only good for drug dealers and money launderers" mentality and towards further legitimacy.

[tto827]

Still many other options up and starting to pop up. These other sites aren't as fancy (think like SBR vs. some of its competitors) and don't have an escrow or auto-pay set up. But someone else whose smart will come along, and do what Ulbricht did, but he won't penetrate up at the start.

Absolutely impossible for the government to stay ahead of these.

[muldoon]

Remember when "Farmers Market" was busted and it spelled the end of Paypal....and W3stern Union?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/feds-bust-farmers-market-an-online-illegal-drug-ring-hidden-by-tor/

A 66-page indictment, released this week, shows that the operators of The Farmer’s Market processed around 5,000 orders, collectively valued at more than $1 million, between 2007 and 2009 alone. Buyers used a variety of payment services, including cash, PayPal and WesterUnion, to pay for the illegal drugs.

[Chew Em]

kaTZ IN CU

[ChalkyDog]

Remember when "Farmers Market" was busted and it spelled the end of Paypal....and W3stern Union?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/fed...hidden-by-tor/

Wasn't familiar with farmers market.

The fact that I can order a rocket launcher and a pound of Afghanny red, basically redefined "one-stop-shopping". It was hard enough to trust the situation there as is, good luck with the new people. There is obviously a market there.

Paypal has ebay. Who does bitcoin have? This is a legit question, I literally don't know. I'm under the impression only use for bitcoin was to purchase shady shit.

[muldoon]

Paypal has ebay. Who does bitcoin have? This is a legit question, I literally don't know. I'm under the impression only use for bitcoin was to purchase shady shit.

https://www.spendbitcoins.com/places/

http://news.yahoo.com/york-city-bar-accepting-bitcoins-payment-192300237.html

(plenty more - but not just for drugs and weapons)

[elgreco]

https://www.spendbitcoins.com/places/

http://news.yahoo.com/york-city-bar-accepting-bitcoins-payment-192300237.html

(plenty more - but not just for drugs and weapons)

Don't forget gambling too

[flyingillini]

Black Market Reloaded and The Sheep marketplace are alive and well. 1.2 billion in a few years and 80 million in commission , you best believe there will always be sites like this. People can learn from DPR. Most vendors are already on both sites plus if you dig more there are many many other sites just like it.

[Optional]

Wasn't familiar with farmers market.

The fact that I can order a rocket launcher and a pound of Afghanny red, basically redefined "one-stop-shopping". It was hard enough to trust the situation there as is, good luck with the new people. There is obviously a market there.

Paypal has ebay. Who does bitcoin have? This is a legit question, I literally don't know. I'm under the impression only use for bitcoin was to purchase shady shit.

One of the bitcoin casinos turns over a crazy amount. because players have faith it is 100% above board funny enough. And every transaction is viewable publicly.

partly because you can gamble and/or invest your money for players to bet against.

Cant recall the name but there was a story in a newspaper here about it just last week.

[Louisvillekid1]

Dam I did quite a bit of reading about this, thanks for the post...

I can't believe I was never exposed to this before...