This Bitcoin drugstore thought experiment quickly got out of hand
The segment reflects on a thought experiment proposed 15 years ago about operating a heroin store accepting Bitcoin to challenge drug prohibition. Initiated by a user known as Teppy, the idea revolved around sending orders of heroin to buyers while simultaneously shipping identical packages to random addresses to create plausible deniability. This hypothetical scenario aimed to explore Bitcoin’s potential for disruption but also highlighted significant risks, including police tracing and forensic analysis of the packages. The discussion unsurprisingly drew attention from notable early Bitcoin adopters. Ultimately, this conversation inadvertently paralleled the formation of the Silk Road marketplace by Ross Ulbricht, who linked to this thread under the alias “altoid.” The content serves as a reflection on how Bitcoin’s idealism quickly transformed into serious implications for law enforcement and society at large.
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