Close Pandora's Box!

Algeria, Bolivia, Ecuador, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia, Macedonia, China, India, Canada - you've heard them mentioned in conjunction with the words "Bitcoin" or "Cryptocurrencies" before.

These countries have all placed or are placing heavy restrictions, if not bans, on various cryptocurrencies or methods of investing in them.

Banning crypto

It's a stopgap; a knee-jerk panic reaction to a problem that governments don't know how to deal with.

We don't understand it. Better ban it until we can figure out a what to do.

A short-sighted, selfish and cowardly, but oh so human reaction.

Modified by @bitbrain. Original from https://www.flickr.com/photos/105644709@N08/10307551833

... but it won't last

Governments are run by politicians. (Bless their tainted, self-serving, corrupt little souls.) Ironically most politicians can list their major skills and qualifications as:

• telling potential voters whatever they want to hear
• lying
• patting children on the head while smiling
• promising to help the poor (always on camera)
• nepotism
• embezzlement
  ...but not running a country per se. Since most of them lack the basic mental capacity, logic reasoning and common sense that the rest of us take for granted, they are essentially forced into politics; a job that rewards people regardless of whether they serve their citizens or not, with tax money paid by those very citizens.

Rant over. For now.

My POINT is: that these people are normally ill-equipped and hopelessly unqualified to deal with game changers such as disruptive technologies. It should come as little surprise to us that some of them just hop on the ban wagon. 😁 It's only fair to give credit where it is due, so kudos to the politicians in countries that have gone the other way (like Switzerland and Estonia). Right now a lot of countries are still sitting on the fence. (Typical politician behaviour again.)

Here's the important thing

Crypto is coming, whether any of us like it or not. In fact, it's already here. Blockchains are worming their way into many different sectors of our economies, and believe me they will thrive. Once people see what they can do and the tech has been proven, they will spread like wildfire.

The idea of companies and stock exchanges as you know them will quite possibly change radically in the medium-term future. I'm not saying that stock exchanges will disappear, that is highly unlikely; but an increasing number of coins will be funded by and run on blockchain technology. Their investors will be those who hold and trade in cryptocurrencies. This may take a decent chunk out of the traditional stock markets, or at the very least, deprive them of new listings. It is highly likely that stock markets themselves will be run on blockchains in the future (they should be in my opinion).

It stands to reason that the countries which get a head start are at an advantage. A first mover advantage can be very significant (look at Bitcoin). With money (in the form of crypto) able to flow freely between countries, any country that ignores crypto has to be incredibly short-sighted. Any country that tries to ban it has to be suicidal (either that or they have a long-term strategy that starts with a ban and then progresses to something else, maybe a centralised blockchain. Personal opinion: a centralised crypto is a tainted crypto that is not worth touching. It goes against the very idea of crypto).

Crypto is going to be big money. Countries that exclude themselves from it will be at a great disadvantage economically. The longer they discourage it, the more it will hurt them.

And before you ask: No. Banning crypto or making it almost impossible to trade does not protect the population. That is purely a tactic of repression and the rhetoric of greedy power-mongers. If grown adults could also kindly stop the patronising babying of one another, that would be great thanks.

Common sense 101: If you (as a country) encourage young developers to launch their own good, solid crypto projects; then it stands to reason that those who succeed will bring revenue into your country. The more new businesses you can create in this way, the more EASY foreign investment you can attract. At the same time you're building your national skills base and reducing unemployment. You may also end up becoming the headquarters of a few powerful new multinationals.

As seen through my crystal ball

Countries that hamper crypto will watch this revolution from the outside. It can be only a matter of time before jealousy, a change of leadership, public outcry or some such similar reason causes a change in national crypto policy. But by then that country will be playing catchup. Any crypto ban in place, now, or in the future, will be only temporary in nature. No country will be able to afford to stay out of the crypto revolution (both from an economic and a political perspective).

Wise countries will get into crypto now. They will actively promote it and allow it to progress as freely and unrestricted as possible. If they don't, then the crypto money will just move elsewhere. I foresee a future where countries compete against one another to become the most crypto friendly. I foresee crypto-havens akin to the existing tax havens. Crypto versions of Monaco are a possibility.

To take things a step further: it may even be possible for breakaway states to fund their entire new economies in such a manner. To think that what started as Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper may go on to have such a profound effect on global geopolitics is incredible.

Summary

Crypto is coming. Countries that support it will reap the benefits of their efforts. Countries that hamper it will be left behind, realise their mistakes, then have to rush to try to become competitive.

The crypto groundswell is already moving, it can not be stopped. Pandora's box has not only been opened, it's been smashed to pieces.

Yours in crypto,
Bit Brain

Food for thought

Will companies that have the same attitude towards crypto meet the same fate? (might want to call another boardroom meeting Twitter, Facebook, Google etc)

DISCLAIMER:
I am neither a financial advisor nor a professional trader/investor. This is not financial advice, investment advice or trading advice. Unless otherwise stated, all my posts are my opinion and nothing more. Crypto is highly volatile and you can easily lose everything in crypto. You invest at your own risk! Information I post may be erroneous or construed as being misleading. I will not be held responsible for anything which is incorrect, missing, out-of-date or fabricated. Any information you use is done so at your own risk. Always Do Your Own Research (DYOR) and realise that you and you alone are responsible for your crypto portfolio and whatever happens to it.