Does anyone happen to know if it is settled law in the United States that transferring bitcoins using a cracked key is a criminal act? It’s not immediately obvious to me that it would be covered by the CFAA.

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tshaddox 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

I would be surprised if the U.S. legal system requires itself to list every possible mechanism by which someone might steal money.

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Terr_ 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

"Darn it, he's right, there's nothing in the rules here saying a dog can't play basketball or fetch money out of a bank vault..."

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hananova 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Bitcoins aren't money.

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greyface- a day ago | parent | next [-]

18 U.S.C. § 2311 defines "money" in the context of stolen property as:

> the legal tender of the United States or of any foreign country, or any counterfeit thereof

Bitcoin has, at times, met this standard by being the legal tender of a foreign country.

	▲	hananova 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Wait, does that mean that counterfeit money is legally money in the US?

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wmf 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

They're property which is also illegal to steal.

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tshaddox a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Good luck convincing the government that you aren’t guilty of money laundering because you used bitcoins.

	▲	hananova 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		It’d be money laundering because money went in on one end, and money came out at the other end. Bitcoin would’ve been the vehicle yes. Still not money though. Something doesn’t have to be money to be involved in money laundering, obviously.

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PowerElectronix 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

It's easy to argue that anyone can operate any wallet without restrictions but just pulling the right key to it.

Every participant knows and accepts it the moment they pull a random key and start operating the corresponding wallet.