Several mainstream media outlets, including NBC News, CBS News and Fox News, reported on an article in Ars Technica over the weekend of a gun dealer in the state of Texas that is allowing its customers to pay in bitcoin.
TrackingPoint, the Austin-based creator of Smart Rifle, confirmed in a press release late last week that buyers can purchase their guns with bitcoin. The gun manufacturer will establish its prices determined by the day’s bitcoin exchange rate. With fluctuations in bitcoin, the gun store might offer a “price guarantee” for patrons.
Since this is something new for the merchant, its payment system will be developed for the first week and the operators will learn new elements of the bitcoin business. CoinVoice will be the entity to process bitcoin acquisitions.
“TrackingPoint was founded with a mission of encouraging new technology and ideas. We’re proponents of progress, both internally in our smart rifle development and externally in the rapidly modernizing world around us,” said John Lupher, TrackingPoint CEO.
“The recent advent and success of cryptocurrency has the potential to redefine our monetary system—and we must continue to innovate in our business practices as well as our technology.”
Oren Schauble, vice president of TrackingPoint, has already noted that restrictions and gun legislation will not be evaded just because of the virtual currency. Here is what Schauble told the tech news website.
“When a customer goes to pick up their firearm from their FFL (federally licensed firearm dealer), they have to go through a background check anyway, so how they pay is irrelevant. They’ll still go through the check.”
Its Precision Guided Firearms rifle prices start from $9,995 and can only be bought through an application process.
The latest news is certainly interesting, but the key question is: why would three major news networks report on a business accepting bitcoins? Each day, dozens of retailers all over the world start permitting customers to pay in the virtual currency. Perhaps it’s because it’s a gun dealer and bitcoin has been associated with illicit transactions and underground networks.
For proponents of strict gun control, the argument could likely be made that now those who want to pose harm can do so without paying with cash, credit cards or debit accounts. They will be untraceable and can now do whatever they want with the guns.
It should be soon that some CNN or MSNBC pundit will claim that bitcoin should be outlawed because a gun was purchased with the digital currency. If a shooting takes place and it was discovered the culprit bought the firearm with a cryptocurrency then some columnist or politician will call for a ban.
Bitcoins, litecoins, dogecoins and any other digital currency are disliked so much that the establishment will try to do whatever they can to eliminate the alternative currency.
In the comment section of the NBC article, there is already a debate about the Second Amendment, regulations and gun crime. It’ll be should be about any time that this conversation makes primetime television.
Here is one remark by a reader:
“Bitcoins appeal to the same mentality as gun nuts. These are the same people who buy gold coins, believe in every conspiracy concept from Roswell UFOs to Grassy Knolls…. They are pathetic an are easily diagnosed as Paranoid Schizophrenics. Help is available for them, I think Risperodal is the current favored drug treatment.”
