Can governments crack down on crypto?

[KryptoBull]

Maybe we can insert here what happen to Bangladesh in the last couple of days, Bangladesh: Broadband Internet Restored After 5 Day Shut Down, Mobile Internet Yet To Be Reinstated.

So for 5 days, the government shutdown the country's internet and obviously everything crypto is going to be affected by it. So this is one example how a government can affect crypto. It's a bit scary to see that they can put a blanket on that country for 5 days and so we should be prepared as well if something happen to us or in the country that we live in. It's just a direct crypto crackdown, but if the government has the power to shutdown their internet, they crypto will definitely be affected negatively.

"The internet was shut down to curtail the violent protest across Bangladesh over the quota reform in government jobs in the last week".

I hope everything is still okay in Bangladesh. We also know that governments may shut down the internet in many situations to protect their states from what they perceive as threats. At least we know that Bangladesh hasn't shut down the internet to attack crypto because crypto will revive as soon as the internet is restored.

Besides, crypto hasn't become a big enough threat for the government to make extreme decisions like cutting off internet connectivity and sacrificing the many positive values that the internet brings, such as information update, calls, social networks.

[silkytakyaan86]

This seems to be true in my country. Earlier crypto was free. The more free it was, the more popular it was. But ever since the government has imposed rules and high taxes on crypto, people have started getting scared.

[KryptoBull]

This seems to be true in my country. Earlier crypto was free. The more free it was, the more popular it was. But ever since the government has imposed rules and high taxes on crypto, people have started getting scared.

Excessive taxes can discourage many investors from participating in the crypto market because they have more attractive options with lower taxes like stocks or real estate. I believe the government's acceptance, management, and taxation of crypto is very positive, but they also need to determine appropriate tax rates to promote the development of the crypto market on a national scale.

The ultimate goal of regulation is to promote development, not to stifle and destroy that market. I think when the number of crypto investors decreases, crypto taxes will also decrease, and the government will have to adjust taxes if they still want to participate in this crypto wave.

[target]

There been many examples of crypto users and tokens been tracked by governments, the government/SEC even filed cases against those developers, I heard LBRY was one of them that folds.

Because crypto is now regulated, more of the privacy coins were being tried by the government which there were also mixers they brought down. They are capable of doing all these.

[bright4mech]

Government can't stop Bitcoin and the funny part of Bitcoin is that, when ever government raise the issue of Bitcoin not to operate in the financial sector, it keeps increasing popularity towards the ecosystem. In the sense that institute come in to buy more of Bitcoin and other alt-coins. Therefore Bitcoin has created to stay as long the internet exists.

[KryptoBull]

There been many examples of crypto users and tokens been tracked by governments, the government/SEC even filed cases against those developers, I heard LBRY was one of them that folds.

Because crypto is now regulated, more of the privacy coins were being tried by the government which there were also mixers they brought down. They are capable of doing all these.

Governments have all the tools to attack and suppress crypto if they really want to, especially when they perceive crypto as a threat to fiat and the economy. LBRY is just one victim of the SEC, and we can also mention Ripple: although they won the lawsuit, XRP missed uptrend 2021 and is considered a failed token. Additionally, the Chinese government once made it impossible for crypto to develop in China, even though people could still hold crypto.

The fact has proven that crypto can be completely suppressed by governments. What we can hope for is that government members will gradually be rejuvenated and better understand the positive value that crypto can bring to the country and the economy in the future.

[NotATether]

Governments have all the tools to attack and suppress crypto if they really want to, especially when they perceive crypto as a threat to fiat and the economy. LBRY is just one victim of the SEC, and we can also mention Ripple: although they won the lawsuit, XRP missed uptrend 2021 and is considered a failed token.

XRP? Ha! Who even uses that nowadays? I don't think even banks are interested in it anymore now that Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs are widely available.

Ripple Labs doesn't seem to think it's dead though, so someone should send them the memo (preferably before they pay Greenpeace again to talk smack about Bitcoin).

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

No government authority can stop cryptocurrency, the way cryptocurrency is structured the government can't stop people from going into it, however government lack of support and fight against cryptocurrency can slow the growth of it, there are some countries that still don't support cryptocurrency but people are still investing in it in that same country.
There's a country if your bank makes any transactions with crypto it will be ban and you will be reported to higher authorities and you will be detain prosecuted for involving your self in cryptocurrency but the people of that country has looked for a way not to be dictated when making any transactions from there banks to crypto or from crypto to there banks.

The government can't crack down cryptocurrency, crypto depends on there investors to grow, if the people are willing to support and invest in crypto then it will keep growing, the government can only make it difficult for people investing in cryptocurrency by not permitting Banks to allow people invest using the local bank.

But I don't see the reason why some government are fighting cryptocurrency, why not support it and then make a policy that the investor's will follow, cryptocurrency has helped in growing the world economy and can also help counties grow there economy if supported.

[luckyledger]

No government authority can stop cryptocurrency, the way cryptocurrency is structured the government can't stop people from going into it, however government lack of support and fight against cryptocurrency can slow the growth of it, there are some countries that still don't support cryptocurrency but people are still investing in it in that same country.
There's a country if your bank makes any transactions with crypto it will be ban and you will be reported to higher authorities and you will be detain prosecuted for involving your self in cryptocurrency but the people of that country has looked for a way not to be dictated when making any transactions from there banks to crypto or from crypto to there banks.

The government can't crack down cryptocurrency, crypto depends on there investors to grow, if the people are willing to support and invest in crypto then it will keep growing, the government can only make it difficult for people investing in cryptocurrency by not permitting Banks to allow people invest using the local bank.

But I don't see the reason why some government are fighting cryptocurrency, why not support it and then make a policy that the investor's will follow, cryptocurrency has helped in growing the world economy and can also help counties grow there economy if supported.

Because it cannot be controlled by higher authorities, that's the reason why But I agree. The growth can only be made smaller, but the crypto as a whole cannot be cracked down, because of the sheer volume behind it nowadays.

[yohananaomi]

Government can't stop Bitcoin and the funny part of Bitcoin is that, when ever government raise the issue of Bitcoin not to operate in the financial sector, it keeps increasing popularity towards the ecosystem. In the sense that institute come in to buy more of Bitcoin and other alt-coins. Therefore Bitcoin has created to stay as long the internet exists.

I agree, Bitcoin is hard to control, but the government can protect itself so that Bitcoin can be accepted by the community well and not used for acts that violate existing rules, with protection through regulations that are made where every transaction to be converted into fiat must go through a local exchange so that protection can be done, and the government can also take advantage of the taxes that are paid.
The popularity of Bitcoin is not because of the prohibition or anything from the government. but because the community already knows the needs and benefits of Bitcoin

[Makus]

This seems to be true in my country. Earlier crypto was free. The more free it was, the more popular it was. But ever since the government has imposed rules and high taxes on crypto, people have started getting scared.

The government are only looking forward to see the downfall of cryptocurrency as they sees it a threat to their economy, not know that crypro can actually increase the status of the economy. Due to the actions of some government, others citizens might deem it best if the government actually allowed the use of cryptocurrency but with taxes. There are lots of person out there who would love to make use of cryptocurrency  but the government restrictions policy has been the only reason they can't access cryptocurrency.  I know most times the taxes can be a bit threatening to too demanding but its best than absolute restriction for no reason.  But I believe a time would come were the government would actually realize their actions weren't the best and allow the use of crypto swiftly.

[yohananaomi]

This seems to be true in my country. Earlier crypto was free. The more free it was, the more popular it was. But ever since the government has imposed rules and high taxes on crypto, people have started getting scared.

The government are only looking forward to see the downfall of cryptocurrency as they sees it a threat to their economy, not know that crypro can actually increase the status of the economy. Due to the actions of some government, others citizens might deem it best if the government actually allowed the use of cryptocurrency but with taxes. There are lots of person out there who would love to make use of cryptocurrency  but the government restrictions policy has been the only reason they can't access cryptocurrency.  I know most times the taxes can be a bit threatening to too demanding but its best than absolute restriction for no reason.  But I believe a time would come were the government would actually realize their actions weren't the best and allow the use of crypto swiftly.

Not all governments want to see it as you said, because there are still those who can accept it with some restrictions where it may only be used for trading and investment but cannot be used as legal tender, so it must be changed to the local currency first if you want to use it, so that the government can collect taxes from every transaction that occurs and this will increase state revenue.
I think in time those who prohibit it will be able to accept crypto because its development has been very rapid, and it is inevitable that technological advances require it to be able to accept it. It is just a matter of time.

[Makus]

Not all governments want to see it as you said, because there are still those who can accept it with some restrictions where it may only be used for trading and investment but cannot be used as legal tender, so it must be changed to the local currency first if you want to use it, so that the government can collect taxes from every transaction that occurs and this will increase state revenue.
I think in time those who prohibit it will be able to accept crypto because its development has been very rapid, and it is inevitable that technological advances require it to be able to accept it. It is just a matter of time.

Even if they can't accept it as a legal tender it's fine, but the restriction to make transactions with cryptocurrency is not worth it. The moment they remove cryptocurrency restriction, you'll be shocked how many transaction would be recorded in such country. Cryptocurrency is a growing project and I think the entire idea on decentralisation is relevant in the future to come. In where I'm from, the government are only restricting crypto exchanges is because they think it's the cause of inflation in the economy, but that is wrong. So the earlier they realise the opportunity in crypto the better for the economy. El Salvador is a great example.

[bee]

Even if they can't accept it as a legal tender it's fine, but the restriction to make transactions with cryptocurrency is not worth it.

Uhm... I don't see the core difference between these two statements. Do you mean just currency exchange transactions?

The moment they remove cryptocurrency restriction, you'll be shocked how many transaction would be recorded in such country.
~~~
El Salvador is a great example.

Yes, you might see a spike in transactions at first. But let's look more at the current state of El Salvador^[1][2] as an example.

According to the survey, 12% of the local population in El Salvador used Bitcoin at least once to pay for goods and services in 2023. This marks a significant decrease from 2022, when the same university reported that 24.4% of Salvadorans had engaged in transactions using Bitcoin.

To date, most Salvadorans ignore bitcoin. They worry about the cryptocurrency's volatility in a cash-based economy where many live hand-to-mouth.
Some 88% of Salvadorans did not use it in 2023, according to a survey by the University of Central America's public opinion institute. Just 1% of remittances were sent in bitcoin.
Nearly two dozen people Reuters spoke to said they did not care to understand the cryptocurrency, but they were increasingly concerned about the lack of jobs and rising costs of housing and food.

Those I highlighted were some of the reasons for the decline in bitcoin usage there. So we don't expect something good to always run smoothly, some government rejections are also not as bad as we think if we look at it from a wider perspective.

1. https://cryptopotato.com/el-salvadors-bitcoin-adoption-drops-significantly-survey-reveals-a-12-usage-rate-in-2023/
2. https://www.reuters.com/technology/short-cash-el-salvador-doubles-down-bitcoin-dream-2024-02-02

[pieppiep]

Not all governments want to see it as you said, because there are still those who can accept it with some restrictions where it may only be used for trading and investment but cannot be used as legal tender, so it must be changed to the local currency first if you want to use it, so that the government can collect taxes from every transaction that occurs and this will increase state revenue.
I think in time those who prohibit it will be able to accept crypto because its development has been very rapid, and it is inevitable that technological advances require it to be able to accept it. It is just a matter of time.

Even if they can't accept it as a legal tender it's fine, but the restriction to make transactions with cryptocurrency is not worth it. The moment they remove cryptocurrency restriction, you'll be shocked how many transaction would be recorded in such country. Cryptocurrency is a growing project and I think the entire idea on decentralisation is relevant in the future to come. In where I'm from, the government are only restricting crypto exchanges is because they think it's the cause of inflation in the economy, but that is wrong. So the earlier they realise the opportunity in crypto the better for the economy. El Salvador is a great example.

Cryptocurrency is still widely available that impose restrictions on the use of Cryptocurrency, especially payments using Bitcoin. If we look at what happened in El Salvador, we have to see what their economic conditions are and what countries support their economy. Developing countries will not make rash decisions, everything needs to be discussed properly and we have to see what negative impacts will occur if digital currencies such as Cryptocurrency become legal in a developing country.