Why has not any government stopped Bitcoin?

[nrnahid]

Governments have done enough to dissuade common people from using Bitcoin extensively. Being charged with operating unlicensed money changing businesses is a possibility if you engage in cash-bitcoin conversion.

[tsaroz]

Governments have done enough to dissuade common people from using Bitcoin extensively. Being charged with operating unlicensed money changing businesses is a possibility if you engage in cash-bitcoin conversion.

Many of the government around the world would gladly stop bitcoin if they could. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that's traded P2P. As everything happens on the internet and has no physical form and official value, there's nothing a government can do to stop it's transaction. They can make it difficult to buy bitcoin with cash, redeem bitcoin to cash and in some cases prohibit buying goods and services using bitcoin but they can never stop a P2P trade.

[imstillthebest]

Governments have done enough to dissuade common people from using Bitcoin extensively. Being charged with operating unlicensed money changing businesses is a possibility if you engage in cash-bitcoin conversion.

Many of the government around the world would gladly stop bitcoin if they could. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that's traded P2P. As everything happens on the internet and has no physical form and official value, there's nothing a government can do to stop it's transaction. They can make it difficult to buy bitcoin with cash, redeem bitcoin to cash and in some cases prohibit buying goods and services using bitcoin but they can never stop a P2P trade.

the op know that fact . infact he didnt say anything online but he only said that offline money changers because that are possible to ban by local governments .

@op , why they didnt stop bitcoin ? because bitcoin is unstoppable if its being used online and bitcoin is too useful , so why would they stop it ? 

but actually there are those that already ban bitcoin  . they ban physical stores , exchangers and other crypto based business offline .

[coin-investor]

Governments have done enough to dissuade common people from using Bitcoin extensively. Being charged with operating unlicensed money changing businesses is a possibility if you engage in cash-bitcoin conversion.

They can restrict or give warnings or ask people to stop using and transacting Bitcoin but there is no way for any government to stop Bitcoin from trading or owning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it's decentralized, anonymous and internet-based, the best they can do is to regulate it and taxed them, the government can make a profit from regulating this exchange, if the government can regulate casinos and online gambling sites, why not these exchange, it will add revenue to their coffers.

[CryptoBry]

Governments have done enough to dissuade common people from using Bitcoin extensively. Being charged with operating unlicensed money changing businesses is a possibility if you engage in cash-bitcoin conversion.

First and foremost, when one is doing business with Bitcoin akin to money changing there is a law in almost any country for that and if one is not be careful in following the law there is a strong possibility that the government can be charging that person with violation of the law...this is not necessary because the government is discouraging anyone from involved with Bitcoin because even if one is not dealing with Bitcoin he must work for necessary permits in doing business.

Second, on the other hand there are really some government who are actively campaigning that their people not be involved with Bitcoin by making the cryptocurrency illegal and by prosecuting those who are found violating the directive. However, any government could not directly stop Bitcoin and I think this reality has already sunk with many of the top governments we have. As we have seen in the past many years, they can make it very difficult to own and trade Bitcoin but this does not stop those who are doing things discreetly.

The fact that some governments are dissuading their people from cryptocurrency is just another way of saying that indeed this technology can really be a big disruption to the traditional way of doing things. And this is one of the many aims of Bitcoin.

[malevolent]

Governments have done enough to dissuade common people from using Bitcoin extensively. Being charged with operating unlicensed money changing businesses is a possibility if you engage in cash-bitcoin conversion.

If they could, they would have already done it. But in many countries they're still making it more difficult to exchange fiat money for bitcoins and vice versa, especially if you reach the volume and frequency of transactions that you're seen as a business, even more so if you use a bank account to send or receive transactions. In some oppressive countries you may even need a license if you deal with fiat money, but fortunately that is not the case everywhere.

[judeafante]

Governments have done enough to dissuade common people from using Bitcoin extensively. Being charged with operating unlicensed money changing businesses is a possibility if you engage in cash-bitcoin conversion.

They should have done it when Bitcoin is just starting out but they cannot because it is decentralized and anonymous and they didn't know back then how to start, and when they finally know how to, it's already popular and many people are now adopting it, to late to start and even if they want to now, they need a lot of resources and funds to do it, they can try to regulate but not stop, it's futile to stop it.

[dothebeats]

They simply can't. One does not simply ban the use of a decentralized currency expecting that it won't get used anywhere, especially in their own domestic soil, for furthering their own agenda in their own fiat money. We may have seen governments go hard against traders/dealers for the past two years, especially the disappearance of local tellers in LocalBitcoins that used to be one good hub for P2P transactions but we know that they still exist, albeit in the realms within sight and reach of the governments. They can press the situation harder to make people avoid the use of bitcoin and discourage bitcoin-cash and vice-versa txs but it will still flourish, much like underground economies still teeming with life in most countries (the black markets, if you would.)

[teosanru]

Governments have done enough to dissuade common people from using Bitcoin extensively. Being charged with operating unlicensed money changing businesses is a possibility if you engage in cash-bitcoin conversion.

Pretty Interesting question. But the answer is pretty simple. Government has stopped drugs but it hasn't been eradicated completely because it happens through hidden channels either out of the trace of government or generally even the law keepers collude with the accused and the network continues to grow. Same is true in case of bitcoin the channel through which cryptocurrency payments happen are actually unstoppable for any governments. because a simple internet, mobile/laptop & a thin bitcoin client would do the job of sending and receiving bitcoins. Moreover crypto is used for money laundering and tax evasion but people doing this the most are politicians themselves. So it's pretty difficult to stop bitcoin.

[gentlemand]

There have been plenty of government clampdowns. Look at places like Bangladesh and China. Elsewhere I've heard enough officialdom being neutral at worst. They're all aware that it has a lot of future potential and sending it elsewhere might hurt them eventually.

And what many here often think of as negative scaremongering from banks and governments - telling people they could lose it all and they're on their own if anything goes wrong as there's no one answerable - is, erm, the truth.

[error08]

Governments have done enough to dissuade common people from using Bitcoin extensively. Being charged with operating unlicensed money changing businesses is a possibility if you engage in cash-bitcoin conversion.

Many governments have done it, for the countries which prohibited cryptocurrency, at least they could pass a law to prevent citizens convert bitcoin into cash through a big exchanger, but they can't prevent someone to do over the counter transaction, just like any other prohibited things. Moreover, exchanging bitcoin into cash and vice versa is not a crime such as trading narcotics which must be banned. People will always do it when there is an opportunity to, as long as there is no evidence to stop them.

[Lucius]

Bitcoin realistically cannot be stopped completely, but it can be severely damaged by banning crypto exchanges and mining farms. These two play key elements in normal functioning of Bitcoin, shut them down and everything turns into a game that completely moves underground, away from the public eye.

The question of why Bitcoin has not been stopped yet actually has a very simple answer, there is still no need for such measures, ie Bitcoin does not pose a threat to the global financial system at the moment. With a current market cap around $150 billion, Bitcoin is just a joke currency - for example only the US annual budget is about $4.7 trillion.

Do you know what Congressman Brad Sherman (US) say about Bitcoin comparing it to Libra?

“Bitcoin is a small baby here. You can’t buy a pack of gum for a Bitcoin. It has to have to an off ramp so that you can then convert it into a sovereign currency,”

[magneto]

Governments have done enough to dissuade common people from using Bitcoin extensively. Being charged with operating unlicensed money changing businesses is a possibility if you engage in cash-bitcoin conversion.

What do you mean? Governments have been trying to stop bitcoin since its inception, I'm not sure why you'd think the opposite.

In fact, China has basically ousted their entire booming crypto industry despite the fact that it was most likely insanely profitable at the time with all of the miners, exchanges, and ICOs just raking in huge amounts of profit. They've explicitly banned exchanges and ICOs IIRC as well as making Alipay/Wechat pay make their users aware of much harsher crypto restrictions.

So it's not that they haven't tried or that they're not trying, it's simply because the even the worst restrictions that governments can come up isn't able to circumvent the decentralised nature of the blockchain, which is ultimately why they can't just "shut it down".

[1Referee]

The question of why Bitcoin has not been stopped yet actually has a very simple answer, there is still no need for such measures, ie Bitcoin does not pose a threat to the global financial system at the moment. With a current market cap around $150 billion, Bitcoin is just a joke currency - for example only the US annual budget is about $4.7 trillion.

Do you know what Congressman Brad Sherman (US) say about Bitcoin comparing it to Libra?

“Bitcoin is a small baby here. You can’t buy a pack of gum for a Bitcoin. It has to have to an off ramp so that you can then convert it into a sovereign currency,”

I don't necessarily think Bitcoin's market cap being low or high is the actual problem, but the use of it. If Bitcoin's market cap is in the trillions, but people still don't use it for anything other than a long term store of value hodl (similar to how people use Gold), governments will not bother to start cracking down on it.

The part you quoted sums it up perfectly; as long as you don't have a reason to NOT use the dollar, the government is fine tolerating Bitcoin. Only when people are discarding the dollar and start paying everything in Bitcoin, and stores restock their shelves by using Bitcoin too, etc the odds will stack against the governments, and that's when they will pull out their banhammer.

Brad's words don't seem to be too aggressive, but the context definitely is. I sense a sinister undertone there.

[Theb]

Ever since the growth of the crypto industry what I have noticed is that the most of the governments have been open-minded with the industry and thankfully they have actually separated the crimes being committed using crypto and crypto itself. Back then you will see bans taking place as the ultimate solutions related to crypto crimes happening but now when a considerable amount of people are involved which is using crypto on regular activities not related to any illicit activities. It's too late for them to make ban as a solution especially when countries like Japan and South Korea and even particular companies like Samsung are taking advantage of the crypto industry. A ban as a solution for them would just mean a step backwards that can ruin an economical opportunity for them.

[AverageGlabella]

I don't necessarily think Bitcoin's market cap being low or high is the actual problem, but the use of it. If Bitcoin's market cap is in the trillions, but people still don't use it for anything other than a long term store of value hodl (similar to how people use Gold), governments will not bother to start cracking down on it.

The part you quoted sums it up perfectly; as long as you don't have a reason to NOT use the dollar, the government is fine tolerating Bitcoin. Only when people are discarding the dollar and start paying everything in Bitcoin, and stores restock their shelves by using Bitcoin too, etc the odds will stack against the governments, and that's when they will pull out their banhammer.

Brad's words don't seem to be too aggressive, but the context definitely is. I sense a sinister undertone there.

The value of Bitcoin is irrelevant and the only thing governments would care about (and the banks) would be whether or not its gaining traction with the masses. Even if it became a threat to the banks and the government wanted to stop it they could not outright stop it. The only real thing that they can do to effect Bitcoin would be to regulate it or ultimately ban the currency from being used in their country but Bitcoin is this beautiful thing which gives you a decentralized platform to use and can avoid censorship in my eyes we should not be worrying about governments cracking down on Bitcoin but the governments should be worrying about how they are driving people to use platforms like Bitcoin because of their censorship. There is a reason why China dominates the markets its because their government censors everything and the people are not putting up with it clearly.

[Lucius]

I don't necessarily think Bitcoin's market cap being low or high is the actual problem, but the use of it. If Bitcoin's market cap is in the trillions, but people still don't use it for anything other than a long term store of value hodl (similar to how people use Gold), governments will not bother to start cracking down on it.

Good point, but I think they (governments) also take into account the total value of Bitcoin, although this information is incorrect due to the fact that a good part of Bitcoin is forever lost. So from that perspective Bitcoin looks pretty harmless, and can hardly compete with the dollar or the euro when it comes to practical use on a daily basis.

The key point is that they have the tools to do damage to Bitcoin; the only question is whether they will and when they do it.

[BitHodler]

Moreover, exchanging bitcoin into cash and vice versa is not a crime such as trading narcotics which must be banned.

It depends though. I don't think there is much wrong with people buying and selling cannabis for example. It's a plant that requires little to no chemical manipulation, which can't be said about those dealing coke or heroin.

I'm really glad that in Canada and the US cannabis is less frowned upon these days, where some states have already legalized use and sales, of course within a regulated environment. It should have happened years ago already, but better late than never I guess.

[darkangel11]

Many governments have done it,

Not that many and most of those who did are third world piss poor countries nobody visits like Bangladesh, Afghanistan, or Vanuatu. Nobody outside of their countries cares what they ban or allow inside their borders.

Moreover, exchanging bitcoin into cash and vice versa is not a crime such as trading narcotics which must be banned.

Drugs exist for thousands of years and they were never the reason for a society's collapse. Banning drugs is good for the government because it gives them all the benefits. Allows them to confiscate and sell drugs themselves, steal money they suspect come from drug trades, make sure more people are "productive" because the government itself is not so it has to rely on the work of others.
I'm not an addict myself but I will always argue with people who have strong opinions about these things.

Bitcoin will not be stopped, that's a fact. You can only stop people from trading fiat for bitcoin and this will only work for electronic payments. You can never stop cash trades, just like there was no way to stop alcohol in the times of prohibition. When people want something they will get it and no bans or laws will stop them.

[error08]

Many governments have done it,

Not that many and most of those who did are third world piss poor countries nobody visits like Bangladesh, Afghanistan, or Vanuatu. Nobody outside of their countries cares what they ban or allow inside their borders.

Not only third world poor countries, but there are also Egypt, Marocco, Bolivia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Colombia, and China.
Some of those probably not banning exchangers but at least governments not allowing banks and financial institutions to facilitate bitcoin transactions.