How Countries Could Try To Kill Bitcoin Adoption

2 years ago

Understanding however bitcoin adoption could beryllium stopped is captious to becoming a amended Bitcoiner and determination are galore imaginable onslaught vectors that exist.

This is an sentiment editorial by Interstellar Bitcoin, a bitcoin pleb.

In a hypothetical world, ideate we are trying to halt Bitcoin. Why mightiness we bash it? How would we bash it? What actions would we request to take? Where would this get us? To reply these questions, we archetypal indispensable speech astir Bitcoin successful a small much depth.

“If you cognize some yourself and your enemy, you tin triumph a 100 battles without a azygous loss.” — Sun Tzu

Bitcoin is an idea. It is exertion that provides spot rights, regularisation of law, economical freedom, escaped markets and, ultimately, dependable wealth to the individual.

Bitcoin is simply a fixed proviso ledger, defining who owns what and enabling radical to transact peer-to-peer. Its ledger is enforced by proof-of-work, a statement mechanics that utilizes vigor successful a mode that removes inefficiencies and creates abundance.

Fundamentally, Bitcoin is accusation and math, thus banning it would person wide implications.

We’ve outlined what Bitcoin is. So wherefore prohibition it?

Control.

Control implicit the quality to people wealth and the resulting Cantillon effect. Control implicit what vigor usage is “morally acceptable” and what is not, specified arsenic via “ESG” (environmental, societal and governance) mandates. Control implicit a populace. Total authoritarianism.

[embed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOh-7SzI6gM

We’ve got immoderate reasons wherefore idiosyncratic mightiness prohibition Bitcoin, but however would they bash it?

Stage One

Unfavorable taxation presumption for bitcoin.

Stage Two

Unfavorable regulation, prohibition the usage of Bitcoin exertion (aka marque math and accusation illegal), net censorship.

Or: Promote centrally controlled shitcoins that usage proof-of-stake and banning proof-of-work. This is an alternate to effort to subvert Bitcoin by promoting bundle that tin beryllium controlled by insiders.

Another alternative: censoring Bitcoin blocks and web spamming. This is simply a nonstop onslaught connected the Bitcoin web that harms usability.

Stage Three

Energy shortages, net outages, nutrient shortages.

Stage Four

Mass genocide of Bitcoiners.

Think It Can’t Happen?

Read more governmental theory and history. Leaders bash immoderate they request to bash to enactment successful power. Do not regularisation retired vigor and nutrient shortages, either intentionally oregon caused by fiat argumentation mismanagement. Do not regularisation retired intentional targeting of Bitcoiners.

It is important to retrieve that Bitcoiners person profoundly held beliefs, mostly summarized as: Bitcoin is bully for humanity and wealth should beryllium extracurricular the power of the state. Bitcoin’s thought of a fixed-cap proviso goes against orthodox economics, governmental structures and the presumption quo.

Bitcoiners are burning the ships, and determination is nary going back.

Only El Salvador and the Central African Republic person made Bitcoin ineligible tender. Most countries are already astatine Stage One: unfavorable taxation laws.

Nine countries, mostly those that are astir authoritarian, person precocious to Stage Two with a partial oregon implicit bitcoin prohibition : Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Qatar and Tunisia.

Imagine a satellite wherever planetary G20 coordination wholly banned bitcoin utilizing wide media to beforehand propaganda against it. Adoption would dilatory overnight. Countries would committedness “stability” and “security” if lone we’d instrumentality different measurement oregon usage their cardinal slope integer currency (CBDC).

At the aforesaid time, authorities could beforehand centrally controlled proof-of-stake shitcoins to disagreement and conquer radical successful “crypto” who besides clasp bitcoin. This is wherefore it’s important to beryllium bitcoin-only.

This could beryllium paired with a nonstop onslaught connected the Bitcoin web done artifact censorship and web spamming.

An illustration of artifact censorship was when Marathon Digital Holdings mined an OFAC-compliant block successful 2021. Marathon lone included transactions they deemed “clean” oregon “compliant,” ignoring different transactions astatine their ain economical disbursal (Marathon stopped their attempt to censor transactions lone a fewer months later).

Similarly, successful 2017, the web withstood ongoing spam attacks by mining pools to flood the web with low-value spam transactions, driving up web fees to propulsion their larger artifact agenda.

Now ideate a authorities histrion — with efficaciously unlimited wealth — heavy subsidizing bitcoin miners who are compliant and spamming the network. This would harm bitcoin’s fungibility and usability arsenic money.

However, crippled mentation is connected Bitcoin’s side. Eventually, authorities actors volition look expanding problems to subsidize censorship and spam the network. Assuming attackers indispensable people wealth to money the attack, this devalues their currency against bitcoin. It’s a short-term onslaught that could lone beryllium effectual if paired with a ban, propaganda and different measures.

The web volition stay usable. People are consenting to wage higher fees. There volition ever beryllium miners who are economically incentivized to see immoderate transaction.

If this didn’t onslaught didn’t work, countries could past effort creating further uncertainty with powerfulness shortages, net outages and nutrient shortages — Stage Three.

This is already happening successful the fiat satellite owed to horrible fiat policies.

Taken to the extreme, immoderate countries with the astir effectual propaganda could adjacent commencement rounding up Bitcoiners — Stage Four. The authorities wouldn’t adjacent request to bash anything; citizens would bash it for them retired of fear.

To immoderate extent, the labeling of Bitcoiners is happening already with overly burdensome know-your-customer (KYC) policies. Regulated fiscal institutions are required by instrumentality to support a elaborate database of idiosyncratic and fiscal accusation (name, address, age, transaction volume, bitcoin addresses, etc.). This database would marque it trivial for the authorities to find everyone who has ever traded, owned oregon utilized bitcoin via a centralized exchange.

Finally, the implicit worst option: government-sanctioned sidesplitting (aka democide). This, and the lesser utmost of forced imprisonment, tin and does hap in history. A hypothetical democide of Bitcoiners would origin irrevocable harm to humanity and yet bitcoin adoption.

Luckily, bitcoin is information, with nary carnal location. Everywhere and nowhere.

This poses a unsocial situation for banning bitcoin: geographic arbitrage.

As countries ace down connected bitcoin, the inducement for different countries to follow bitcoin arsenic ineligible tender grows.

“The program is simple: arsenic the satellite falls into tyranny, we’ll make a haven for freedom.” — Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador

This is simply a cleanable illustration of crippled theory.

Two countries banning bitcoin causes important harm to both.

Two countries letting bitcoin beryllium causes some economies to thrive.

One state defecting and banning bitcoin portion the different does nothing, harms lone 1 country.

The unsocial Nash equilibrium successful axenic strategies is down, close (No ban, No ban).

What does this mean? Bitcoiners person an work to defy immoral and unjust laws. This volition necessitate civilian disobedience and/or entering into authorities to guarantee we win. The adjacent champion alternate is retreating to bitcoin-friendly geographies similar El Salvador.

The question radical reasoning astir banning bitcoin request to inquire themselves is: are they consenting to permanently imprison and termination to bash it? The lone mode to halt an thought is to physically halt the radical who clasp an idea. Imagine George Orwell’s 1984 conception of doublethink.

It is up to the radical to determine which way they volition choose: state oregon tyranny.

So, however bash we support against these attacks?

Shill to arsenic galore radical arsenic possible; the much radical that clasp bitcoin, the better.
Teach the value of self-custody and moving your ain afloat node. There are large resources by Bitcoin Magazine and galore others.
Support bitcoin-only individuals, businesses and countries.
Improve the underlying web and scaling technologies. For example, BIP324 (a bitcoin betterment connection for P2P encryption) and Layer 2s specified arsenic the Lightning Network.
Build resilient communities and circular bitcoin economies.
Become a Bitcoiner who is simply a beacon of anticipation successful an abyss of darkness.

In conclusion, it is imaginable to maim bitcoin adoption temporarily, but astatine a punishing cost: fascism connected a monolithic scale, not seen since WW2.

The cardinal connection present is “adoption.” It is intolerable to termination the Bitcoin network, an thought of unstoppable dependable money.

This nonfiction was based connected a Twitter thread.

This is simply a impermanent station by Interstellar Bitcoin. Opinions expressed are wholly their ain and bash not needfully bespeak those of BTC Inc. oregon Bitcoin Magazine.

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