Welcome to another FUD Friday!

Every week, I respond to a piece of #Bitcoin FUD for your education and entertainment, and then invite you to give your own response, or make corrections to mine. Here's this week’s FUD:

"𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹."

This is a common argument made by those who either overestimate the government's capabilities, underestimate Bitcoin's resiliency, or both. I will first approach this from the overestimation of the government's powers, and then from the underestimation of Bitcoin's robustness.

The first question to consider is: Which government? China, one of the most powerful nations in the world, tried unsuccessfully to ban Bitcoin several times, and while it was able to mostly ban Bitcoin mining in 2021, it was still not a complete victory for them, since some people there still mine and transact with Bitcoin in secret. And all their "success" was actually a colossal failure, because all the energy infrastructure, intellectual power, and financial opportunities that they banned have since left their country in favor of regions that treat them better.

Something very similar would happen if the most powerful government in the world, the United States, also tried to ban Bitcoin. However, because of the separation of powers in the United States government, a blanket ban on Bitcoin would not be easy to issue. Many senators, representatives, governors, and even presidential candidates own Bitcoin and are in favor of protecting it. There are many other wealthy and influential Americans who like Bitcoin, so a ban on it would be an extremely unpopular move, politically.

A combined effort from several countries would be even more difficult, but let's move on to examining Bitcoin by assuming that this kind of international ban was somehow carried out. This would absolutely slow down Bitcoin's mining processes and overall adoption for a while, but it still wouldn't kill it. Miners would move to more favorable jurisdictions, and bitcoiners would continue to send sats via peer-to-peer marketplaces, and while using privacy tools like VPNs and TOR.

The rest of the world would soon see that Bitcoin survived yet 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 attack, which would make more people feel confident in using it as their money of choice, thereby causing Bitcoin to bounce back stronger than ever. Eventually, with all the talent and wealth moving to Bitcoin-friendly countries like El Salvador, the nations that banned Bitcoin would become impoverished and fall behind the now prosperous and technologically advanced nations that welcomed it.

At its core, Bitcoin is an idea. As Victor Hugo once said, “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” And as the character known as V said, “Ideas are bulletproof.” Fighting against any new technology or way of life -- be it fire, the wheel, the printing press, the automobile, the computer, Bitcoin, or anything else -- only hurts the aggressor. That's why many bitcoiners are known to say: "Governments cannot ban Bitcoin; they can only ban themselves 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 Bitcoin."

What do you think of my answer? Would you say it differently? Let me know in the comments!