We're beginning to see Bitcoin carving out its own space, separating the concept of money from government control, much like how the internet did with information.
Before the internet blew up, information was basically in the hands of broadcasters, publishers, and the government. Then the internet came along and messed that all up, giving people access to info without barriers.
Now, Bitcoin seems to be doing something similar for money. Historically, governments have had their grip on monetary policy, currency creation, and transactions. But then Bitcoin stepped in with its own set of monetary rules that aren't influenced by politics.
This shift is something we've never seen on such a large scale before.
As Bitcoin's success continues to grow, it's safe to say that it will be remembered as more than just an asset but as the start of a new era in monetary decentralization.
Bitcoin is gradually breaking away from state control over money
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Did you fall into a coma in 2015 and only just wake up? Bitcoin is more tightly controlled than ever, more heavily regulated than ever, and there is more bitcoin in the hands of corporations that will comply with government requirements without hesitation than ever before.
The states always control the societies in their nations, just more or less and Bitcoin can not change that. Do people hope for Bitcoin legal tender or Bitcoin acceptance legally in their nations. It's right to hope for such legal things for Bitcoin and Bitcoin users but at the same time of such legality statuses, Bitcoin users will have to cross traditional systems with control from governments.
There will be overlaps between decentralized Bitcoin and centralized governmental systems, and I don't think it's bad. People who want more privacy and anonymity will do necessary things for their practice and achieving better privacy and anonymity. Who don't want it, will simply use bitcoin and government systems naturally and comfortably.
That was one of the reasons that bitcoin was created, but there are ETFs and bitcoin asset managers today which makes part of bitcoin to be centralized. Another one are people that turned exchanges to a wallet. Another are the custodial wallets. All these still make some part of bitcoin to be centralized. But anyone that want to use bitcoin in the way it is created for P2P transactions without any third party can still use it.
AtomicCipherMember
Posts: 58 · Reputation: 247
#5Apr 27, 2023, 08:08 AM
Everything depends on how far governments are willing to go in their desire to control their citizens money. The more laws they introduce that restrict peoples freedom to manage their own finances, the more actively people will look for ways to bypass such systems. Even those who initially declare all of their bitcoin transactions and income may eventually start avoiding government control, especially if the authorities try to interfere too deeply in everyones personal finances.
Don't you see that most countries now strictly regulate Bitcoin, and some have even tightened KYC and banned people from sending Bitcoin across borders unless they go through a regulated exchange.. the reality of Bitcoin today is not what you say, although it remains decentralized, the people who use it are now bound by government regulations that are increasingly restricting Bitcoin use for money laundering and various other reasons.
The people initially thought that the government will be reliable enough for them to depend, but later do we realize that giving them authority over us is just for their own personal advantage and we are going to be enslaved in so doing because there is going to be a lot of restrictions that will deny us from achieving our financial goal, this is why bitcoin has been the major game changer for the people to have their freedom.
Money laundering and other financial crimes are just excuses that they governemnt give for restricting Bitcoin use. Have the governemnt banned fiat because of fraud? They simply want to control the financial activities of the citizens. They want to ensure that they have the power to control how we use our funds and also have the power to seize them if they want. They are also concerned about taxing crypto owners. The government knows that the crypto industry is getting richer, hence they get revenue through taxation. No matter how they try, there are still those who are using Bitcoin in a decentralised manner.
Let's discuss about "Slowly, Bitcoin is separating money from the state!", Bitcoin in fact has a fastest ever growth in history, the best ever, so it's not like slowly growing and separating money from the state.
See Bitcoin adoption curve and user growth rate comparison with the Internet.
It's super fast growth and there is no way for saying oppositely with evidence from two charts below.
I disagree.
If they still allow the internet, it means they still control the distribution of information, or even dominate the media, presenting only information they deem appropriate for public consumption. Likewise, Bitcoin remains under control for the majority of its users. In other words, only a small portion of users are taking advantage of Bitcoin's decentralization.
However, this all depends on the level of skepticism. The North Korean president is skeptical of any of his citizens using the internet. Chinese government began to worry earlier that Bitcoin would become dominant.
vault_alphaHero Member
Posts: 363 · Reputation: 2228
#11Apr 30, 2023, 11:24 AM
Bitcoin is doing really good, but it's not so separated as you think, and the analogy you used in the place of internet is not so accurate because the internet is highly controlled than you think, and Bitcoin is even better because it is a decentralised system. But still, the government is trying to find a way around it through regulations.
Bitcoin is still decentralized, but users have not yet been able to become decentralized. Bitcoin is no longer what you are referring to. You yourself may be trading Bitcoin through centralized exchanges, there are many other users. Bitcoin users have not yet been able to embrace a fully decentralized financial system.
The state is trying to maintain partial control over Bitcoin, even if it does not have full control. Various corporations are helping the state in this work.
paul.stakeHero Member
Posts: 651 · Reputation: 3798
#13May 1, 2023, 04:26 PM
Bitcoin is separating money from the State, correct, but Bitcoin does not separate the State from property rights, and this is the primarily problem, unfortunately. Bitcoin does provide high levels of freedom, but if you want to use your bitcoin to buy a car or a house, you need to get permission from the State, and this is where it falls short.
Capital gains tax is the next goldmine for the State. Since they steal everyone through inflation, anyone who will try to escape through capital appreciation methods, will get taxed properly. We need even smarter solutions that will avoid the banking system completely.
When the state want to tighten their policies and regulations including tax like capital gain tax, people will have more problems and mostly have to obey to existing policies, laws and regulations. It's risky if they want to find ways to avoid tax because they must do it very perfectly from start to ending. If they began bad or made mistake in the middle, they will have big problems with government and tax issues later.
If traces are left, and government found that, it's impossible to deny the ownership with these addresses, bitcoins and deny tax responsibility. Cost of breaking laws and tax will be very costly and government will not treat such citizens too friendly.
No, and I don't disagree that Bitcoin itself has separated it from the state because as long as I have been there and known the world of Bitcoin and crypto, the state has been very strict about Bitcoin and crypto. The proof is that in many countries that I know of, KYC is required. If KYC is required, it is a sign that they want to know someone's activities with Bitcoin and crypto.
Not all problems, especially financial problems, can be a solution and Bitcoin was not created to be an enemy of the banking system.
The only bitcoins that cannot be controlled in any way are the burned ones and partially the held ones. Why do I say partially? Because when it comes to spending, to live a life in bitcoin, unfortunately there isn't a massive adoption that allows you to do so. Therefore, we have to exchange those bitcoins for fiat currency, and there you relinquish control. The good point is that you can only control the amount you want when you want, if you know how to manage your privacy.
The government will always do its best to control money. We can see it on how the government implements regulations on cryptocurrency. Since cryptocurrency is not regulated by the states, most governments have banned it if they can't see any possible way to regulate it.
So as time passes by, Bitcoin, being decentralized by its nature, is becoming centralized, although not in its naturality but by application integrated on the use of blockchain, the 2nd layer, where control is injected. Yes Bitcoin seems working to separate money from the state but the state is fast enough to nullify this effect.
the_matrixSenior Member
Posts: 313 · Reputation: 1887
#18May 3, 2023, 11:33 PM
BTC is a different kind of money and it is an alternative. State money, fiat, is what is widely used and that is not about to change. Like i said, BTC is different, it is decentralized and censorship resistant, but you cannot live off it yet, in most cases you would have to sell your BTC to fiat in order to spend it and that would still incure CGT imposed by the government.
BTC is decentralized, but we live in a centralized society and most of the CASP's are also centralized and regulated by the government. So, even if they are unable to control BTC directly, they can exert some form of authority on how people use it through these centralized and custodial services.
The government controls whatever, they get involved in and there is nothing you can do about that. Since ETFs and government have involved in Bitcoin, this gives the government power to regulate those using third party service for their bitcoin transactions.
Some countries government went as far as telling their citizens to declare their crypto assets in order for the government to task them and know about their financial status.
paul_omegaFull Member
Posts: 54 · Reputation: 311
#20May 4, 2023, 05:07 AM
A lot of users dont understand just how much influence government and public figures have got on Bitcoin these days. Most of these is made possible due to the various centralized system that exist within the Bitcoin framework. Thats why it sounds really strange when you find people come up like this as though they havent being around and wasnt noticing all that has being going on about the currency, try to make a statement of fact.
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