The lie of anarchy and the true value in Bitcoin
Many have thought that Bitcoin was in some manner designed to promote anarchy and a stateless society; that concept cannot be further from the truth. Bitcoin was designed to promote the rule of law. It helps create a system where all are equal under the law and sunlight is shone on the corruption that festers in the dark and hidden regions to make it fade into obscurity.
Anarchy is incompatible with liberty, and Bitcoin cannot be anarchist. Anarchists often claim to be “libertarian”, but this is just a part of their charade designed to help indoctrinate those who have not really studied liberty into the Philosophy of Collectivism.
The ideology of anarchy is rooted in a concept which (falsely) mandates a path to liberty that is initiated with the dismantling of ALL government. This corrosive philosophy instils the lie of a free society only being able to exist when there is NO government whatsoever.
Bitcoin was designed to allow corporations and people to engage with sound government — not to remove government.
Destroying documents — bad for business or illegal
Two significant provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley are defined in §§ 802 and 1102 and codified, respectively, at 18 U.S.C. 1519 and 18 U.S.C. 1512(c) set the basis for why an immutable blockchain is needed.
These provisions impose substantial criminal penalties on any individual or entity — public or private — for destruction of evidence or obstruction of justice regarding any actual or “contemplated” federal investigation, matter, or official proceeding. In the case that led to the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Enron and others engaged in a massive effort to destroy documents.
If the accounts of Enron had been implemented on a blockchain-based ledger, there would have been no way for these to be destroyed.
More, the Real-Time Disclosure (§ 409) reporting provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley also require the disclosure of legal risks. With a blockchain, with Bitcoin at scale, such disclosure will be simple. In this, we see a partnership of business and government acting transparently.
If an incident goes to court, it is necessary to list not merely documents in one’s possession, custody, or power, but also those that once existed and have been destroyed. It is an incredibly difficult task in the best of times.
The integration of Machine Learning Techniques and Bitcoin allows corporations to engage efficiently in—
- classifying all documents that are scanned or electronically created using systems of automated controls and allocations,
- using digital analysis techniques and data mining to search through system storage and data warehouses for keywords and classifications,
- configuring key fields in databases and making rules to create isolated copies of required documents,
- formal policies and procedures, and
- network scanning for defined classifications.
In fact, some of the IP we have been creating at nChain is all about aiding businesses to use digital analysis techniques and data mining to search through system storage and data warehouses for keywords and classifications and to map these using the blockchain.
The purpose of information security is to preserve:
- confidentiality — data is only accessed by those with the right to view the data,
- integrity — data can be relied upon to be accurate and processed correctly,
- availability — data can be accessed when needed.
All three of these points are preserved in Bitcoin. Many new security requirements have impacted organisations over the last years and decades. Some, such as PCI-DSS, are well known if still misunderstood, others with more serious impact remain unknown by most. CLERP9 is as onerous as, if not more onerous than SOX; some states have introduced criminal penalties for poor document retention, and there are criminal penalties for organisations that do not secure Tax File Numbers, SSNs, etc.
Bitcoin allows corporations to solve many such issues. Most critically, it is important that you ask how you prove that your organisation has taken the necessary steps to ensure security through good corporate governance to a level that satisfies due diligence.
This is where metrics are important. If you cannot prove it using evidence, then there is a presumption that you have not done anything. Bitcoin provides a ledger that helps organisations meet their security needs and also prove that they have done so.
Primary objective of auditing
Audit is about managing risk. The function of the auditor is to be the eyes and ears of management acting as a means of management to measure and report on risk. The follow-on benefit is that it also decreases risk through a level of increased awareness.
The primary objective of an auditor is to measure and report on risk.
An audit is the means in which management can find the answers to the difficult questions concerning the organisation. It allows them to appreciate the means and processes that are implemented to achieve the organisational missions and objectives.
Measurement leads to reports of risks, and allows management to act.
One of the greatest side benefits of an audit is an enhanced awareness of the issues facing the organisation. To understand risk, we will first look at the threats that may impact us.
Such is the real purpose of Bitcoin; it is not anarchist money, it is sound reporting, a system that is resistant to corruption and a means to allow corporations to be more efficient.
Bitcoin works as it is cash and has value.