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easy to block on blockcypher.com side?
Starbucks also helps drug traffickers stay focused
I don't think the story here is "ban blockchain so we can end botnets". The story is "it's going to be harder to take down botnets".

Or rather, the story for the moment is that it's not. The last section is about how it's cheap to disrupt. But that will probably be solved pretty quickly.

Eh, BlockCypher are based in CA. Court order could force them to sinkhole any API requests to that wallet.
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Why would they encode the ip in transactions sent to an address instead of from an address? Anyone can send BTC to an address, while only the botnet operators would be able to send from it. Then it would be unlockable.
In some detailed examinations, if you're quite pedantic, there are no "from" addresses in Bitcoin. Which I only mention to lead into: more concretely there may have been no easy way to tell when there was a spend "from" a certain address with the tools they were using to check. "Have I been paid yet?" is a much better supported use-case in Bitcoin than "Hey let me know when I just sent out money", so it's quite easy for the tooling for that to be easier to find. And malware authors are pretty lazy generally.
maybe bitcoind is actually a botnet. anyone read through the entire source? LOL. (*disclaimer: JOKE)