They're just using more and more argument against bitcoins to keep their monopoly on the financial system. It doesnt matter if bitcoin is power intensive, because the only way they're making a profit is by using cheap renewable energy. This is no environmental concern because once they use more energy than their renewable facilities can generate then they wouldnt profit.

Their next argument regarding the dark side of BTC seems compelling. It is true it has been used to do illegal activities, but the current banking system is no different. Aside from the mentioned irresponsible printing, fraudulent loans and manipulation there is also this case where HSBC has been caught helping drug cartels in mexico. And because they are too big to fail all they got was a slap on the wrist. There was zero accountability. Unlike what happened to the CEO of Mt Gox who was jailed for losing millions.

Link on HSBC
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/business/dealbook/hsbc-us-charges.html

I think it's one of those things that sounds good but does not work. How does the goverment manage it while protecting its anonymity and centralization? additionally management kinda sounds like taxation to me. I hope i am wrong though. Maybe there is a way to keep bitcoin as it is while protecting its users. If that ever happens, i imagine the value would just skyrocket and society will begin it accept cryptos as a legitimate mode of transaction.

Well everything is under supply and demand. Anything that affects it, have effects on its price. But it's also note worthy to consider confidence in regular banking. If you're in a country with a failing economy whose currency is losing value everyday due to massive amount of printing, you might consider cryptos as a life boat.

Well they could try. It's almost impossible to tax at an individual level because of the technology's design. They'd have to tax exchanges (which might cause them to shut down.) but even if they do, you could always use exchanges on different countries with lax laws. It's understandable that governments would want to tax it, especially since it's a booming industry. but of course its citizens would go to extreme lenghts to avoid this. Let's enjoy the relatively lax laws on cryptos because in the future i expect them to be stricter.

Bitcoin is just a small part of this, the true disruptive technology here is the blockchain. However, i dont think blockchain alone will end centralization. There are still problems we must address. The most obvious one is the scalability and centralization trade-off .  the BTC system is very decentralized but the trade off is its scalability. For applications such as medical records, how do we make sure the records even make it to the chain? Assuming every hospital is using it. Another problem is that maybe in the future, the blockchain will be so large, only a few chosen institutions will have the means to maintain it. If that happens they'll be like one of your political parties in your country, just another "decentralization used as an instrument for harder centralization."

yes i agree! I think this is a point other people miss. Like any other software, bitcoin is a piece of technology that solves the problem. In order to understand the the solution, one must understand the problem. It's not as simple as digital currency. We have digital currency. It's so easy to buy things online with a credit card. But that involves trusting a 3rd party like visa or mastercard. Investing in bitcoin is investing on money that runs on a trust free system. Other than focusing on the politics and current events involving the price fluctuations of bitcoin, people should also look at the technological aspect of how the team solves problems its facing along the way.

This is true. I Dont think is a problem for us though. Most advertising ICO are scams and a danger to the community. However i do see the disadvantages. It is possible that some of them arent scams. Maybe one or two of them are doing legitimate technological innovations. It's just so hard to tell them apart now a days. But those people will just have to find other places to market themselves.

I love the relatively faster transaction and lower fees, but i dont like that it's an indication that the network traffic slowed down. During the $20,000 dollar peek, the fees were unreal, but BTC was almost double the price today. How congested the network is, can be an indication of potential volatility. As long as the prices are rising, i have no problem with how fast the transaction speed is . But i do hope they solve the scalability issue, either through the lightning network or something else.  

The best way is to have foresight through intense research on the technology and the people behind it. You need to be familiar with the technology behind the crypto currency. Even if you dont come from a computer science background, try to understand enough to know the problem the technology is facing and how the people behind it are fixing it. Research on who they are and their backers and miners. If they're originally based somewhere the government hinders the development of crypto's then you probably dont want to invest in them. There's gonna be lots of cryptos coming out this year, as it has never been easier to start one. You probably want to invest on the currently top crypto currencies, but if you're going to put your cash somewhere else, then make sure you understand how their technology is better.

This is true. They're the reason why some people see BTC trading as a scam. They're literally a waste of energy. They copy the same technology over and over again and they wrap it in different colors, then they market it as if they discovered a break through. They make it hard to distinguish actual scientific break through from rip-off scams designed to make as much money as possible. It's a hindrance to the economic and technological growth of BTC and some other decent crypto currencies. I just wish they make something that actually addresses the technological problems crypto currencies are facing.

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Thanks!

I dont think their interest stems from wanting their own crypto currency. Blockchain has so many applications. BTC is just the beginning of it. It successfully proved to many that the blockchain technology works and people are just beginning to understand all the possible application it has. For instance, blockchain could significantly boost their security. They'll basically be protected from data lost. Plus i dont think they'll be willing to shift to crypto because it's a threat to their existence. What makes them powerful is that they're centralized and they have all the control. Why would they give away that control?

It all comes down to demand and supply, but there are so many factors that affect it. How the press shines on bitcoin is a huge factor. Currently, bad news after bad news, put btc on a bad light. That made some people lose confidence in it and sold their coins. Another factor is competition. There are so many other cryptocurrency, and it divides the people. Supply and Demand goes somewhere else. Lastly, you should also pay attention to is how btc changes on a technological level. What some people seem to forget that, there's actual tech and developers behind BTC, and you should be paying attention on how they improve the system. What they do can drastically chance the market.

It is possible to tax bitcoins, but probably not on an individual level. A bitcoin specific taxation on individuals is hard to implement because whatever regulation they impose anyone could easily avoid by working under the radar. Businesses on the other hand though, they easily tax and regulate. Which translate to taxing everyone using the service of that bitcoin establishment. So yes i think it is possible but they'll be targeting businesses and miners.

Defining what it is, is just formality because they cant regulate it if they dont recognize it.
It's worth mentioning that bitcoin is made as an alternative to modern day banking. The problem with banks is that they're centralized
and they hold all the power. They single-handedly crashed the economy through shady housing loans. Bitcoin was intended to be used as
the currency of the internet but because of its scalability problem causing slow transactions. It's impossible to use it as everyday money for everyday transactions.

This is true. China is a place of surveillance so it doesnt make sense to them to allow something that would help their citizens become anonymous. It's also possible that they're trying to kill it completely. That's why they've been banning it and unbanning it. They're trying to crash the market by causing the investors to panic sell.

It's also note worthy that there's been a change of power in china in 2012. Ever since, there's been a power struggle between the former and current incumbent general secreatary. The first ban happened on 2013. Perhaps the ban is a result of an internal power struggle to purge the former ruling parties.

It's definitely good to see the start of the hike despite regulations in asia. It's as if regulations disable some people from trading and   other people take over. What ever chilling effect the regulations had it wasnt enough for people to lose confidence so im optimistic that we'll see another all time high.

seems to me that it depends what kind of light is shined on bitcoin? And factoring that, the article was written 5 years ago, It's safe to assume that there were less people using bitcoin back then. Meaning, there was more room to grow. All the events that unfolded, just made it more popular and caused it to boom.  As it is now, the bitcoin network is much more congested and the popularity is sky high. So im speculating that the goverment shudown, isnt going to affect the prices significantly. But we'll probably see a hike since, the value is a bit low right now.

Well i guess it could be "less" volatile in the future. What's causing volatility right now is that it's being traded like a stock and that's because of the scalability issue. People can't use it as actual currency right now because it's too slow. On top of that, regulations after regulations and the bad reputation it's been getting because of pyramid scams are forcing some people to sell. Im speculating that once, the scalability issue is fixed and all regulations has been imposed, the volatility will somewhat decrease.

dips are good, if you religiously believe, that prices will bounce back. BTC is a bit unique. 
It's still a growing technology. So there's still hope the prices would skyrocket.