Why Bitcoin Will Never Be Blocked

Author | Gu Mengting, please indicate the source for reprinting

Many countries have adopted a strict regulatory attitude towards cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and some countries such as Bolivia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have even attempted to completely ban Bitcoin. But in fact, no matter what the regulators do, they cannot completely ban Bitcoin.

1. Bitcoin cannot be banned by law

There is a saying circulating in the Bitcoin community:

“You can take Bitcoin out of your country, but you can’t take Bitcoin out of your country.”

Why? Because it is impossible to use law to resist a protocol that is far superior to human subjective legal system. The government may be able to "ban Bitcoin", but it still cannot stop its people from continuing to use it.

According to the latest data from Coin Dance, Bitcoin is not restricted in 112 of the 251 countries or regions in the world.

(Source: Coin Dance)

Akin Fernandez, founder of Bitcoin startup Azteco, previously said that regulators were too eager to regulate a software protocol. In fact, there is no difference between Bitcoin and social media software such as WhatsApp. In essence, they are software platforms used to transmit data. There is no need to make such a big fuss about regulation.

WhatsApp, which now has more than 1 billion users, has no laws to constrain it. In contrast, Bitcoin, unlike legal tender, is subject to unbreakable constraints.

Fernandez believes that if the United States wants to regulate Bitcoin, it will violate the First Amendment of the Constitution, so if legislation is to be passed against Bitcoin, the First Amendment must be overturned and rewritten.

Earlier, John McAfee, the father of antivirus software and cryptocurrency enthusiast, retweeted an article titled “Why the U.S. Government Can’t Regulate Bitcoin” on Twitter and commented,

“Everything stored on a blockchain is text that contains information that many people need to know, and everyone has the right to read it. Therefore, it should be protected by the First Amendment.”

The article states that the Constitution guarantees inalienable rights to American citizens, and therefore Bitcoin is a protected form of publication. The only way to regulate Bitcoin is to amend the Constitution, or even overturn the First Amendment entirely.

2. Open source distributed software cannot be banned

The Internet may be subject to a certain degree of censorship, websites can be blocked, and authoritarian governments can even ban everyone from accessing the Internet. All of this is because the Internet still relies on centralized servers controlled by ISP service providers and governments.

But Bitcoin cannot be banned. Its operation depends on decentralized nodes, and the development of Bitcoin distributed software has long spread across the globe. Even if all countries in the world unite to ban Bitcoin (this move will overturn the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and will inevitably cause uproar worldwide), they will have to realize that Bitcoin cannot be banned.

Let's make an extreme assumption. Even if all the core developers of Bitcoin disappear from the world tomorrow, and even the access rights are hijacked by the IMF, Bitcoin can still continue to grow wildly. Users will not download the manipulated new version at all. Since everyone can view and audit the code, they just need to continue running the original software.

Currently, Bitcoin's reliance on the Internet is still controversial. But in fact, with mesh networks, decentralized nodes, and open source distributed software, Bitcoin does not have to be completely dependent on the Internet, and can also run through other alternatives such as Tor.

3. Bitcoin can broadcast data via satellite networks

Late last year, blockchain technology company Blockstream launched its fifth satellite to transmit the Bitcoin blockchain from space, aiming to make the Bitcoin network more powerful and reduce Bitcoin’s reliance on the Internet.

In addition, Blockstream has also enhanced its Bitcoin satellite service through lightning payments. The company has announced that it has expanded its satellite service to the Asia-Pacific region and added support for lightning network transactions, allowing users to pay for its services using the layer 2 expansion solution.

Blockstream CEO Adam Back told Forbes that the growing strength of the Bitcoin network and the decreasing cost of participation will help emerging markets use satellite broadcasting as the main Bitcoin network interface.

Blockstream satellites now cover all of the world except Greenland and Antarctica. If countries try to ban Bitcoin or the internet, satellite networks could be a last resort for people living under repressive rule.

4. Bitcoin SMS payment becomes a reality

If satellites and mesh networks aren’t enough, people can also send bitcoin via text messages, which don’t rely on the internet or smartphones.

In a country like Venezuela, where smartphone penetration is low but almost everyone has a mobile device that can send text messages, Bitcoin SMS payments are particularly attractive.

5. The power grid cannot be shut down

If some countries and regions find that blocking the Internet is not effective, they can also choose to shut down the power grid to ban Bitcoin. However, such an approach is bound to bring many negative effects, not only affecting economic development and social progress, but also causing dissatisfaction among the people, which is obviously not worth the loss. In addition, in a sense, electrical engineering should be a public industry and will not be controlled by the government.