An absolute worst case scenario. All websites mentioning Bitcoin, including this one, were shut down. All exchanges were shut down. Bitcoin was made illegal. Bitcoin would only be operational as a true Peer-2-Peer network (nothing would change here from the way it is currently). To buy it it would need to be on an online black market or from someone on the street with cash.
Now imagine this.. What if Bitcoin was already designed with this exact scenario in mind? There are only 21 million bitcoins. If the scenario above occurred, what would happen 20 years later when physical gold gets confiscated and governments really start to lose control? How could people instantly transfer value internationally without using a centralized or trusted party, or a party that demands information from them? There is only one, original, cryptocurrency that could be accepted as a store of value based on its respected name alone, and that's Bitcoin. Its tech will be old, but its reputation will never die. Just like gold bars are old, yet still retain value even though gold bars intrinsically don't do much and are a tiresome way to transfer value. People could still conduct trustless International transactions with Bitcoin even if it's not hip, no matter what situation was thrown at it. Unlike gold though it cannot be easily confiscated.
Imagine in a dystopian future where the banks don't let you make certain transactions they don't agree with, such as gambling? Where the government required lengthy forms to be filled out for simple online purchases? What would the demand for Bitcoin be as the first, original blockchain? There can be no debate about it. Again, there are only 21 million of them, and no blockchain currency can ever compete with its brand in the history books, even if they eclipse its tech.
Bitcoin can not be shut down. And it cannot ever lose its reputation as the first cryptocurrency that started blockchain. So Dear Investors: Please stop reacting to centralized news for a coin that is designed to overcome anything thrown at it. It was created for these exact sort of scenarios.
This is a very good way of thinking about the situation.
I just want to add that people compare bitcoin to the dotcom and 2008 housing crisis bubbles. I think bitcoin is very different because it's not simply an investment. There is an IDEOLOGY behind bitcoin. People believe in this, and want a decentralized financial world. The price may waver every now and then, but it will never die.
