Breaking News
Tulsi Gabbard Exposes Alarming Biden-Era 'Domestic Terrorism' Strategy
"Levitating Diamonds Reach Impossible Speed":
Talons From The Sky: Coiled Scales On The Ground
If You Could Destroy America: How Would You Do It?
Top Tech News
Scientists reach pivotal breakthrough in quest for limitless energy:
Kawasaki CORLEO Walks Like a Robot, Rides Like a Bike!
World's Smallest Pacemaker is Made for Newborns, Activated by Light, and Requires No Surgery
Barrel-rotor flying car prototype begins flight testing
Coin-sized nuclear 3V battery with 50-year lifespan enters mass production
BREAKTHROUGH Testing Soon for Starship's Point-to-Point Flights: The Future of Transportation
Molten salt test loop to advance next-gen nuclear reactors
Quantum Teleportation Achieved Over Internet For The First Time
Watch the Jetson Personal Air Vehicle take flight, then order your own
Microneedles extract harmful cells, deliver drugs into chronic wounds
The US Government Is Powerless to Block Bitcoin Addresses
It has been widely reported this week that the U.S. government has blacklisted two BTC addresses linked to cyber crime. These particular addresses were singled out because their owners are believed to be Iranians, whose country is currently facing heavy economic sanctions from the U.S. While the BTC addresses are clearly connected to ransomware, mainstream media has gotten one crucial element of the story wrong: You can't blacklist a bitcoin address.
Bitcoin: Unblockable Since 2009
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is the financial intelligence wing of the U.S. Treasury Department. It enforces economic sanctions against foreign entities the American government has taken exception to. Right now, it has Iran in its sights. By OFAC's own admission, however, trying to blacklist bitcoin addresses is a first. "While OFAC routinely provides identifiers for designated persons, today's action marks the first time OFAC is publicly attributing digital currency addresses to designated individuals," explained the agency, adding:
Like traditional identifiers, these digital currency addresses should assist those in the compliance and digital currency communities in identifying transactions and funds that must be blocked and investigating any connections to these addresses. As a result of today's action, persons that engage in transactions with [these addresses] could be subject to secondary sanctions.
You Can't Blacklist a Bitcoin Address
The addresses in question, 149w62rY42aZBox8fGcmqNsXUzSStKeq8C and 1AjZPMsnmpdK2Rv9KQNfMurTXinscVro9V, have been involved in over 7,000 transactions since 2013 and received close to 6,000 BTC. As of Nov. 28, anyone interacting with these addresses could technically be held liable by the U.S. government and punished in some way. In reality, though, these threats are little more than empty words. No one — not even the U.S. government, with its army of apparatchiks and enforcers — can prevent a specific address from sending or receiving bitcoin. With cryptocurrencies such as EOS or ripple, OFAC would likely have more success, but decentralized assets such as BTC and BCH are uncensorable.