Bitcoin is a famously dececentralized cryptocurrency, a system of storing value, and a somewhat less-effective transaction medium. It allows near-instantaneous transfers all over the world without a middle man or regulatory body giving it the go-ahead. Fans of cryptocurrency fear government regulation could ruin it, but they shouldn’t be concerned. Any attempt control bitcoin simply won’t work.

Beyond the difficulties presented by the decentralization of bitcoin itself, governments and regulatory bodies have shown they lack understanding of technological topics, and bitcoin is one of the most complex. As governments struggle to ban technologies like Tor and encryption, it seems impossible to imagine them gaining the ability to truly impact bitcoin – and its alt-coin contemporaries – in a way that could impede its progress.