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Comment by anewaccount2021 | Hacker News Reader

anewaccount2021

This is just the beginning, and every major government in the world will be on board. In the end, fiat currencies are the foundation and core of every industrialized nation. There can be no alternatives. There's just no way bitcoin will be allowed to become an accepted medium for exchange. Janet Yellen is trying to provide early warning, although I doubt many will bother acting on it.

edit: welcome bitcoin bagholders/downvoters!

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This was always going to be the outcome of attempting to subvert governments, central banks, and other interconnected institutions with technology.

Laws versus tech, the law almost always wins (one of the few scenarios I'm familiar with where tech "won" was the reversal of PGP being treated as an export restricted munition [1] [2]). Tech is just a tool, and the arguments for crypto currencies compared to traditional fiat digitally represented (Central Bank Digital Currencies aka CBDCs [3]) just aren't that compelling (especially with countries, 54 so far more on the way, continuing to roll out instant payment networks [4]). This emboldens the very real observation Ms Yellen makes that crypto exists to obfuscate the transfer and storage of value against the intent of government financial regulation.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_from_th...

[2] https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/55023/what-was-...

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_bank_digital_currency

[4] https://empower1.fisglobal.com/rs/650-KGE-239/images/Report_...

...except the horse has left the barn and Bitcoin has already infiltrated the highest levels of business, finance and government. Even the IRS recognizes it.

What seems more likely is KYC regulation for transactions and SEC review for ICOs. If this happens, Bitcoin will skyrocket in value as it crosses into the mainstream.

(disclosure: minor HODLer since 2013)

> every major government in the world will be on board

I can see a strong argument for governments to be intrinsically against something that takes away their own power. On the other hand, if that thing takes away the power of their rivals more, there's no reason for them to see it as a net win and act accordingly.

This was always the major existential risk of all of these currencies. It always felt like the cryptoheads viewed currency economics through an academic perspective instead of a practical one. While fiat currency is about money, at the macro level its much more about cultural and political control. Yes, it would be ideal if we decentralized and things were more transparent, but to get there you are literally going to war with every major military in the world by asking them "hey guys, hand over that control/influence." It seems like an uphill battle and one that doesn't truly start until they begin to be seen as a threat.

Good luck fighters...

Yes, we will need to fight to keep our crypto money alive.... these communist suckers will try fuck everything to control us... be prepared!

>these communist suckers will try fuck everything to control us

Yeah Janet Yellen the famous Marxist... wtf??

I mean the smarter ones usually hide it...

Thats the dumbest thing I've ever heard. So you are admitting you have no idea at all that she's actually a "Marxist" and that it's just a catch all term used by American morons for people they don't like?

Not only that, but crypto users would eventually end up resolving disputes through the legal system, both because they must and because there is no practical alternative. So you come to depend on the system you are trying to undermine.

If you want to set up your own currency, you also need to set up a legal system to resolve disputes, a law enforcement system to enforce judgements, and a military to ultimately defend all these other systems.

Crypto seemed like it had to reinvent the wheel of the financial system, with all its pitfalls. Turns out the rabbit hole is much deeper than that.

They seem to tolerate gold, and its price is more stable and it's easier to use as a currency than any cryptocurrency.

Because governments own gold.

There are a whole bunch of restrictions on moving gold across borders, and it's generally impractical to transact in gold for small transactions. You would have to not only carry the gold with you in useful increments, but also the appropriate assays to prove its value (which means you can't subdivide gold on the spot to make change).

That makes gold less useful as a currency than cocaine, ammunition or ram sticks.

Don't underestimate the power of incumbency. Gold has been something used as an exchange commodity far before currency. Its also impractical at scale so much less a threat to the general system.

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