Whatever John Mcafee endorses, turn and run full speed in the opposite direction.
The incredulous hype of the blockchain strikes again, except this time the mosh pit rave is not based off the surge of heedless investors causing a ping pong ball on mousetraps style nuclear chain reaction of crazed speculation, leading to a blatant overvaluation, and the establishment of a legitimate monetary system dutifully offering the darkweb and various criminal syndicates the digital cloaking mechanism of priceless anonymity, ensconced in secrecy. Supports of the speculative marketplace include the disingenuous and eccentric John Mcafee, founder of the insufferable Mcafee antivirus program which regularly and without warning prompts Windows users to annually subscribe to the borderline scam advertising cyber security. (That kickbacks and lucrative threat of the hacking community is a story for another day.)
In a first world predicament similar to the plight of a college kid rooting for viable rivers of cash and credit cards to hemorrhage on nonsensical endeavors involving Spring Break and exotic pets, the insatiable financial lust by the state government in Ohio to remain fiscally buoyant has undertaken a desperate and bizarre turn. Businesses are now afforded the esoteric latitude of paying taxes directly with Bitcoin, through a website affiliated with the office of the State Treasurer, reports WTOL-TV, a puzzling development considering the terminal velocity free fall of the entire cryptocurrency marketplace over the past 10 months.
What’s even more inexplicable, is the now existence of a tax payer funded project catering to an almost non-existence marketplace, as business and consumers have avoided the volatility and precarious security protocols plaguing the foundational principles of digital monetary technologies. Even the galactic online retail node of Amazon, is wary to incorporate Bitcoin as a reliable payment method, as Jeff Bezos and brass remain steadfast in accepting only the traditional tested entities of debit, credit and gift cards at the virtual checkout stand. The reluctance of the commerce known center of the universe to implement global leader Paypal, which rates high in consumer confidence, as a facilitator for paperless transactions, is a gargantuan red flag as to the immediate future of future of alternative payment processes. Major retailers are opting for a reasonable course of development in gradually testing and adopting the innovative, yet variable software, a sensible approach to generating revenue, which obviously transcends the stilted vision of big government.
The caveat to this pending civic headache of epic proportions, is the failure of bureaucrats in grasping the basic concepts of the Bitcoin construct, and comprehending the intricate synergies between end user transactions, cryptocurrency mining efforts, electricity usage, and most importantly, value. As the fundamental blockchain technology, originally derived from National Security Agency programming and code, is powerfully eloquent and complex, the vulnerability exists not in the diamond fortress hash ledger of recorded and validated transactions, but in the cyber wallets on each side of a financial exchange.
Why the state of Ohio is delving into the uncharted expanses of a decentralized monetary system is a fair question that borders on the pleasingly disturbing. There are 500 million reasons to ponder this conundrum after the January 2018 successful hack of the Japanese bitcoin exchange Coincheck, where a half billion dollars almost instantaneously disappeared into the ether and shadows of the underground internet, with absolutely no repercussions in the absence of compensation for victims. The axiom of the wild wild west of cryptocurrency is “there is no guarantee in the wispy smoke of “poof”, it’s gone, tough shit”, as the insurances available through traditional banking are notably absent. This troubling notion only convolutes the decision by government in Ohio to attach itself to a purely speculative and frankly highly experimental joy ride that transcends an alternative to banking. Apparently, a decade plus four years from dubious history proves as an eternity for the selective memory of the public in recalling the 2004 controversial election mess of Diebold voting machines emanating from Columbus, and life must prove dull in the absence of chaos. Somewhere at an Ohio State football game a guy named Wally is sitting at the 50 yard line as a distinguished alumnus and laughing all the way to the bank.
As Bitcoin mining efforts become increasingly grinding and complex, due to the rising difficulty of solving Enigma level times ten 64 character algorithms in the continuing construction of the blockchain, the electricity requirements place a formidable strain on the energy grid. The joke in the mining community surrounds the existence of a single operation in Mongolia diverting such a high magnitude of power from the nation’s electrical infrastructure, that the subsequent amount of the coal smoke being released as a result is causing air quality issues. Add to this fact, the prevalence of criminal syndicates and individuals utilizing the technology to fund insidious to evil acts, and the decision of Ohio to engage in the wonderland of digital currencies defies reason.
From a perspective of creating a diversion, the move seems palatable, as the distraction to tax payers may be a benefit to the ingrained bureaucracy. As aforementioned, the unstable track record of cyber security surrounding the protection of Bitcoin account holders is woefully mediocre, and it may be in the best interest of a state to offer residents the most involved and complex solution to a simple problem. With the rush of internecine brandished by a plausible cryptocurrency riot, the dubious actions of government can be buried by insanity, and maybe even a federal grant secured in the melee. Similar to the playbook of cities on the west coast introducing a corrosive homeless epidemic to the once shining downtown corridors perfectly framing a iridescent Pacific Ocean sunset, governments are fabricating civic problems in a pathetic attempt to balance the overburdened books left in the wake of unsustainable pension funds forced by labor unions.
Another possible motivation for prompting the Bitcoin tax pilot program is attracting the tattered remains of the height of the mining movement, as the currency price peaked at nearly $20,000 in January of this year. However, over the last 10 months, the value has stunningly dropped, leaving investors scrapping hundred million dollar projects for pennies on the dollar. The decree by Ohio to merge government with cryptocurrency, is a resounding public relations stunt beckoning all the failed or flailing ventures to relocate to the Buckeye state, with the ulterior motive of course to generate a plethora of tax dollars, if the digital monetary market can recover.
At the very least, the state will open up another pipeline for data collection efforts of business owners and another online security vulnerability combining all the necessary ingredients of an epic breach, not on the scale of the social network scandal, but with ramifications which will surely force end users in the near future to “opt in” or else face financial sanctions. A policy which squarely lands deftly in the gray hinterlands rugged Martian surface of legality, and with the added contrived intrigue and suspense of another billion dollar space megaproject.
While cryptocurrency is the ultimate monetary system for the Cartel, the Mafia, or militant oligarchs, it is not a stretch that the retched tendrils of proximal government have extended into the digital realm of imaginary banking reaching horrific proportions.
Read the WTOL-TV story here.