Regulation possible? Regulation Inevitable?

[thewarriorofthelight]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.
But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin. Tracking coins and banning the sale of coins for fiat by exchanges if they come from certain regions ( exchanges, wallet suppliers). Illegalization of the exchange of Fiat for Bitcoin, with the regulation again targeting exchanges as entry points.

This regulates Bitcoin itself.

Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

[1714696711]

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[mk4]

But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

Probably. Time will tell.

Is this possible?

If bitcoin gets to full mainstream then it's going to have a huge slap in the fact to the central banks. It's pretty much inevitable.

How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

You use and hold it regardless. Hopefully by then bitcoin would have more privacy features to help non-techie people achieve more privacy.

[mikeauerbach]

Regulation is inevitable. Right now most centralized exchanges don't  serve unverified customers. We have to deal with KYC and AML rules.

[Charles-Tim]

What I believe is that people that know about bitcoin very well and how it works will not be affected much, they can still have means of practicing noncustodial holding, having their private keys, using CoinJoin for making transactions very impossible to track, how about using mixers in a way transactions can not be tracked and so on. People will still be able to buy and sell through some non-kyc exchanges and platforms. But, the issue is that most people privacy will be compromised by government laws and regulations while most people do not even bother by the laws and willing to give kyc to the custodial services they keep bitcoin with, because of peoples ignorance, there is nothing that can be done, governments will compromise people's privacy while peoples ignorant nature will not let them know and thinking governments ate right about this.

[pooya87]

when bitcoin reaches mass adoption you no longer need to exchange it for fiat, it is already a currency and by then it will be used by majority (by the masses) so you simply use it as you would any other currency without needing to swap it with another one.

as for regulation, you are confusing it with banning. they are very different things. i don't think bitcoin will ever be banned by any more than 1% of the world (just as it is now). but it will be accepted as a legal way of payment just as many countries have already done it. that means regulations as there are regulations for fiat.

[Serious475]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.
But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin. Tracking coins and banning the sale of coins for fiat by exchanges if they come from certain regions ( exchanges, wallet suppliers). Illegalization of the exchange of Fiat for Bitcoin, with the regulation again targeting exchanges as entry points.

This regulates Bitcoin itself.

Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

This regulation is what we called mass adoption and all of us are waiting for this time to happen because if this happens, crypto users will be earning more than what they are earning right now and it is really good for us. It will also allow all the people around the world to use crypto currency including those who aren't allowed. I hope that mass adoption occurs earlier than what we have expected so that no one can stop improvement of each country. I hope that all of us gets responsible when the time comes.

[covfefe_]

Governments and through a global initiative may regulating cashing in and cashing out from bitcoin. They may force exchange to collect and provide personal info of anyone buying, depositing or withdrawing. But they'd not be able to regulate bitcoin network or bitcoin transactions. They can't track and associate every bitcoin transaction to individuals. So, if people trade goods or services exclusively on bitcoin, the government or any central agency may not get involved.

[davis196]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.
But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin. Tracking coins and banning the sale of coins for fiat by exchanges if they come from certain regions ( exchanges, wallet suppliers). Illegalization of the exchange of Fiat for Bitcoin, with the regulation again targeting exchanges as entry points.

This regulates Bitcoin itself.

Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

Dude,you are answering your own question.Of course that Bitcoin regulation is inevitable and we have to deal with it.I think that Bitcoin(and all the altcoins) is already heavily regulated without even being mainstream.
Unfortunately this is the price we have to pay,in order to see worldwide Bitcoin domination.Many Bitcoin supporters won't be happy and I completely understand them.
Maybe going mainstream won't be the right path for Bitcoin,because the regulations might turn the crypto exchange platforms into "cryptocurrency banks" which represents all that we have been fighting against.
I mean that banks are bad.It doesn't matter if they are fiat banks or cryptocurrency banks.

[Oshosondy]

when bitcoin reaches mass adoption you no longer need to exchange it for fiat, it is already a currency and by then it will be used by majority (by the masses) so you simply use it as you would any other currency without needing to swap it with another one.

This is a good point, the problem we are still facing now is that people still depend on fiats to convert to in order to spend bitcoin, but with mass adoption, if we can be able to exchange bitcoin for bitcoin directly, that means there can be increase in privacy because many people will do away with using fiats and be avoiding KYC. With time, this will become achievable.

[Yogee]

when bitcoin reaches mass adoption you no longer need to exchange it for fiat, it is already a currency and by then it will be used by majority (by the masses) so you simply use it as you would any other currency without needing to swap it with another one.

This is a good point, the problem we are still facing now is that people still depend on fiats to convert to in order to spend bitcoin, but with mass adoption, if we can be able to exchange bitcoin for bitcoin directly, that means there can be increase in privacy because many people will do away with using fiats and be avoiding KYC. With time, this will become achievable.

The bigger problems are people do not use platforms where they can spend bitcoin directly and there are more speculators than actual users.

Governments granting legal tender status to bitcoin may or may never happen at all as some countries are already working with their own version of digital currencies [CBDC]. I wouldn't be surprised if BTC can be directly traded with or convert to CBDCs instead of USDT or other stable coins.

[Kakmakr]

Why do you need to defend Bitcoin against it.. ?

We all know governments are in control of every aspect of our lives, because we give them the power with our votes. If you live in a country, where you have a free and democratic election process, then you should vote for the party that would support Bitcoin as a currency.

Regulations can only regulate "legal" use of Crypto currencies... it will try to stop the "illegal" use.. but it will not be able to stop it. Place yourself in a governments shoes and see if you would allow unregulated Crypto currency use in your country.   (Doing that effectively give criminals a tool to avoid taxes and to commit serious crimes)

[crwth]

If there are more people involved, it would even be more inevitable. I know it's not the ideal position for Bitcoin, but I think it's necessary to protect everyone from unwanted scamming. That's probably their main concern.

If you are concerned with that, make sure you don't re-use addresses. With that, you could be more private with your transaction, etc.

[ekmsh]

    
Regulation possible? Regulation Inevitable? ...these are those phrases which strike hard in every bitcoin lover's head. Yeah I support btc regulation but on the other hand I know this subject is not so simple. and on other hand I think BTC is now in the stage where it can defend itself. Day by day btc is getting more and more adaption and as usual we know Bitcoin always strikes back.

[ChrisPop]

I think 10 years should be plenty of time for people to get familiar with Bitcoin and begin using it on day-to-day transactions.

Some kind of regulations will be set in place for sure, but it will be hard for all the countries to get in a common ground. So there will be loopholes for sure. But again, Bitcoin is offers a good anonimity, I'm sure there will be well-developed DEXes until then so we won't depend on a centralized exchange to trade.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Already today, with PayPal accepting Bitcoin, the authorities are trying to regulate Bitcoin. What does it mean? The purchase will not be anonymous, since the system has all the details of PayPal customers.
But full regulation of Bitcoin, I think, will be difficult to implement. Because real crypto enthusiasts preach the goal of decentralization. And, so I hope that in the future there will be some kind of golden mean between Bitcoin and regulators for its full implementation.

[sunsilk]

Illegalization of the exchange of Fiat for Bitcoin, with the regulation again targeting exchanges as entry points.

This regulates Bitcoin itself.

Is this possible?

This is already happening for some countries. We can't help them as it's the government who has declared this kind of ruling for bitcoin. But for the citizens who have been bitcoin supporters and investors, they have other means of transacting.

How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

No need to defend bitcoin. They'll eventually lift those bans and will accept the fact that they can no longer ignore bitcoin. Just look with the good news that are popping recently.

[avikz]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.
But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin. Tracking coins and banning the sale of coins for fiat by exchanges if they come from certain regions ( exchanges, wallet suppliers). Illegalization of the exchange of Fiat for Bitcoin, with the regulation again targeting exchanges as entry points.

This regulates Bitcoin itself.

Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

I wouldn't see a blanket ban is forthcoming on bitcoin by international regulatory bodies like IMF or World Bank. However, regulation is inevitable! It may not happen in 1-2 years timeframe but eventually it will come our way if we really want to see bitcoin as a mainstream currency!

I am not sure why a defed is needed anyhow because that's what we all want to see, right?? If regulation isn't here, then bitcoin will never become a mainstream currency!

[20kevin20]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.
But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

All I'm hoping for is that the "knowledge about Bitcoin" will be legit information, and not the reputation and knowledge masses currently have about BTC thanks to the MSM staining it constantly. If we're only 10 years from mainstream knowledge, then things are going to go insanely well. One thing I don't think will happen is your second question tho. Laziness is too much of a trend today to care about learning how Bitcoin works and how to protect yourself from Surveillance States desperately attempting to invade your privacy.

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin. Tracking coins and banning the sale of coins for fiat by exchanges if they come from certain regions ( exchanges, wallet suppliers). Illegalization of the exchange of Fiat for Bitcoin, with the regulation again targeting exchanges as entry points.

This regulates Bitcoin itself.

There is never going to be regulation under Bitcoin's network, so you could basically transact at any given time even if it's illegal in your country - under your own risk, obviously. One thing I'm particularly afraid of is that unknown addresses will be flagged and as soon as the link of unknown coin owners get their identity exposed, they'll be questioned for everything they've done over the network with harsh penalties.

Something like - your coins come from a source unknown to authorities? You're suspicious. To some, it may sound like dictatorship or something not so far from Orwell's vision. I personally think it's just a few steps away from reality. We're already living in a Surveillance State - the BTC and criminal activity will be a continuous excuse that'll never end until they get their plan to succeed.

How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

I don't think so. The only thing I can think of is providing Bitcoin privacy-focused updates - but I am afraid this will push it into bans and rejection. This is double-edged: while it lets us, "the Internet Rebels", continue Satoshi's vision of a decentralized mean of exchange, Bitcoin would go into the underground markets in those countries where it'd get banned - increasing the illegal usage substantially.

We're quite close to the hard regulation of cryptocurrencies. Let's just hope it's going to be a fair regulation, and not something worse than the KYC nightmare.

[chaoscoinz]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.
But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin. Tracking coins and banning the sale of coins for fiat by exchanges if they come from certain regions ( exchanges, wallet suppliers). Illegalization of the exchange of Fiat for Bitcoin, with the regulation again targeting exchanges as entry points.

This regulates Bitcoin itself.

Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

Regulation is inevitable , without it the institutional investors will leave, the banks will move against it, and the price will fall significantly as people are unable to cash out all at once. I believe that the more regulation that we have, the higher the price will continue to steadily move. The all time high of $20,000 a Bitcoin was super inflated, and unrealistic and was bound to deflate eventually.
The goal is to possible meet the governing bodies that regulate cryptocurrency somewhere within the middle,so that too much regulation doesn't stifle the growth of creativity and freedom within the sector. Decentralization must be balanced with centralization, or one will certainly negatively effect the other. It's like the yin and yang of tao, one always effects the other, not equal by themselves but they complement each others imperfections when they team up.
  Freedom without order is anarchy, as is order without freedom is tyranny, when the two become one, this is the way. . .  

"To infinity and beyond" quote by:buzz lightyear

[Wexnident]

Adoption is only a matter of time as long as Bitcoin continues this kind of progress. The time it takes for the entire world to actually adopt it though, is still quite unknown. As for regulation, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. They can't actually touch the core concepts of what makes Bitcoin, Bitcoin. My guess is most regulations would come to avoid scams and the like, making an official list of exchanges that the government acknowledges, or heck, they themselves could host exchanges so that exit scams could be avoided.

There may be also an increased regulation in creating new Cryptocurrencies, and only registered ones with enough (insert random details that they may take) so that the market wouldn't be spammed/overwhelmed by shitcoins.

[Rodeo02]

Adoption is only a matter of time as long as Bitcoin continues this kind of progress. The time it takes for the entire world to actually adopt it though, is still quite unknown. As for regulation, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. They can't actually touch the core concepts of what makes Bitcoin, Bitcoin. My guess is most regulations would come to avoid scams and the like, making an official list of exchanges that the government acknowledges, or heck, they themselves could host exchanges so that exit scams could be avoided.

There may be also an increased regulation in creating new Cryptocurrencies, and only registered ones with enough (insert random details that they may take) so that the market wouldn't be spammed/overwhelmed by shitcoins.

To be honest adoption is already started. there are just people who do not want to accept or not accepting that this is the new generation and this is the thing that can be used in today's time, even this pandemic time it shows that we need to improve and adopt this new technology If we want something to change in us. no matter what we avoid we will enter the digital era and the banknotes will lose  its value sooner.

[yazher]

In ten years everything will change what we are seeing with Bitcoin right now, although the price is unpredictable, there are high tendencies about bitcoin became one of the leading online payment in the world after PayPal successfully release their version of cryptocurrency online payment. Time will give us successful progress about bitcoin because as you can see right now, everything is good about it. If this will continue after 10 years, expect more than you ask for.

[Vishnu.Reang]

The cryptocurrency market cap has reached the $400 billion level. At this point, regulation is inevitable. Do you really think that the governments will allow cryptocurrency to remain unregulated? As a first step, they are going to eliminate the Bitcoin mixers, so that it will be difficult for users to remain anonymous. Next stage would be to give details of your cryptocurrency holdings in the income tax returns. Already they have outlawed anonymous debit cards, which can be charged with cryptocurrency.

[YOSHIE]

with the regulation again targeting exchanges as entry points.

if the regulations have been made by one country and enacted laws to control Bitcoin against companies that provide exchange services it could happen depending on the country.

However, what you need to know for now is that there is no single country that actually applies the Regulation, just saying it in public.
For example: currently what is happening in India, you can see in the law board in this forum, in the end rebuttals continue to happen, why can this happen, because the government needs Bitcoin.

You don't need to fight, just follow the flow of the game, sure Bitcoin will not lose in any form of regulation.

[AakZaki]

~snip~

Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

I thought it would and will definitely come, but as far as I know it is difficult if there is an organization that wants to organize the blokchain network. Several countries around the world have enacted rules for digital currencies. For now, I see it only protecting its users and preventing abuse for illegal activities. Meanwhile, providing special arrangements to local authorities on the network for now seems impossible on the global Bitcoin network. Meanwhile, to fight it as long as bitcoin is still trusted by the receiving community and the community consensus continues, it doesn't matter. I think in the end no organization can organize unilaterally. Correct if I'm wrong.

[cabron]

Regulation is inevitable. Right now most centralized exchanges don't  serve unverified customers. We have to deal with KYC and AML rules.

They still serve traders without KYC, the users who withdraw less than 1BTC can still do it without having to submit KYC and AML rules. I have tried hoo.com and is sure to have worked well.

The regulation I think will be more strict when we exchange our BTC to fiat. That's the time you will need to send your data, they may even ask for a source of funds.

[Lucius]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.

I would disagree with your thinking, although 10 years may seem like a long time, look 10 years back and look at where BTC is today - research says no more than 1% of the total human population has anything to do with Bitcoin. Despite the great media pumping that was created during 2017, the average person's knowledge of Bitcoin today is very modest, and in most cases completely misinterpreted. It is likely that things will develop much faster in the next 10 years, but in my opinion it is not realistic to expect that everyone will know about BTC even then - and I do not want to speculate how many people will use it, it is impossible to predict.

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin.

It is true that those in power can try to steer Bitcoin in some direction, but any attempt to reduce decentralization in any way will certainly provoke counter-action - because in technical terms I am sure that over the years there will be many innovations that will continue to strengthen Bitcoin. The future is uncertain, but one should not be pessimistic, Bitcoin will find its place as a currency and as a store of value.

[ChrisPop]

I would disagree with your thinking, although 10 years may seem like a long time, look 10 years back and look at where BTC is today - research says no more than 1% of the total human population has anything to do with Bitcoin. Despite the great media pumping that was created during 2017, the average person's knowledge of Bitcoin today is very modest, and in most cases completely misinterpreted. It is likely that things will develop much faster in the next 10 years, but in my opinion it is not realistic to expect that everyone will know about BTC even then - and I do not want to speculate how many people will use it, it is impossible to predict.

I view things a little bit differently. There are a lot more market participants, some of them are big sharks. 10 years ago there were just the miners and a bunch of crypto enthusiasts. Now we see big companies and funds taking considerable positions in the market. Moreover we see PayPal and lower tier payment processors making encouraging moves in regard to cryptocurrencies.

In terms of "average joe" adoption the progress is not very fast, but PROGRESS is there. I think 10 years in the Information Age is enough for Bitcoin to become mainstream.

[taufik123]

To be honest adoption is already started. there are just people who do not want to accept or not accepting that this is the new generation and this is the thing that can be used in today's time, even this pandemic time it shows that we need to improve and adopt this new technology If we want something to change in us. no matter what we avoid we will enter the digital era and the banknotes will lose  its value sooner.

The adoption of bitcoin and blockchain technology has indeed started, even a few years ago there were several companies that started to switch to bitcoin by providing bitcoin payment options. and until now the latest adoption has been made by PayPal which has started adding options to buy and sell cryptocurrency via paypal. This is trending news that makes bitcoin price hit up to $ 13k. in modern times it will be easier to accept this technology and the situation is indeed favorable with the pandemic, thus reducing the use of banknotes. However, the adoption is not evenly distributed in all countries. There are several regulations set and in each country it is different.

[Lucius]

~snip~

It is obvious that sharks gather around Bitcoin, at the moment this bait is passionately attracted to them - but if we follow the patterns from the past, will sharks still be interested in Bitcoin when the whole thing cools down - or when crypto winter comes? I'm just interested in what they will all do with their BTC when the correction starts happening, and we know that it can be very brutal.

If we read the definition for Mainstream describes what's viewed by most people in a society as "normal,", then it is hard to expect that most will be considered Bitcoin as something normal. To be honest, Bitcoin is still very misperceived as something used by criminals, terrorists, hackers and the global internet underworld. Of course, the adaptation that goes through the world's big companies will greatly help to change that perception - because if something is legal for PayPal or for a big bank like JPM, then over time it will become completely normal for everyone else. But it will take time, in my opinion maybe more than 10 years - although I don't mind being wrong

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Governments and through a global initiative may regulating cashing in and cashing out from bitcoin. They may force exchange to collect and provide personal info of anyone buying, depositing or withdrawing. But they'd not be able to regulate bitcoin network or bitcoin transactions.

Don't think we have to wait for another 10 years or Bitcoin going more mainstream for this to become a norm in the industry. Already we're seeing exchange implementing strick KYC verification measure that requires all the sensitive information you have as an individual just to access their platform for advanced trading or enjoying the fiat features of the exchange as it can be observed with Binance exchange.

The regulations that'll be coming into the space is something we can avoid, we asked for it and it's coming to disrupt the whole system. Bitcoin was built on the zeal to end the current fiat system mode of operations but slowly bitcoin service providers are heading toward the same direction.

[plvbob0070]

It's kinda hard to tell what will happen in 10 years and if by that time, bitcoin already achieved mainstream. But for sure, during those years, there will be big progress to mass adoption, and as also mentioned by others, regulation is indeed inevitable especially when bitcoin gets more recognition in the future. But regulations will depend on how a certain country view bitcoin so it does not necessarily mean that when countries regulated bitcoin, it's something bad that we have to defend it or something.

[shoreno]

already 10 years have passed and btc is in the mainstream now , theres also regulations but not too much . they do it for a reason and it sometimes have a positive effect  , its for the own good of ones country or for the good of the users so we must follow it

we dont need to defend it and i dont think you can do anything to defend it because the government are declaring it , what you can do ? your only a common individual with less power than them . just go with the flow man .

[mardaed]

This is what I fear to happen where all the country will decide to ban all the crypto assets as we cannot do something to defend the crypto against it. But if the countries will only regulate the crypto assets and not banning it then I have no problem with it because it only means that the governments are already accepting the existence of crypto assets which is good.

As long as we have legal local exchange where we can easily convert our fiat to crypto then there is nothing to worry but if most of the countries will try to ban those exchanges then it is pretty difficult to defend and we don't have other option but to stop using crypto assets when that time will come.

[posi]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.
But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

News usually travel fast and if the knowledge about Bitcoin is mainstream in the next 10years then enough people should also be expected to adapt to Bitcoin mainstream.

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin.
Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

I believe IMF Boss to be crypto enthusiast because she once advise the governments and the institutions to create their own national digital currency cause virtual currency are the perfect solution to economic meltdown and finances.
With that been said, i dont see IMF refulatung crypto and if regulations will happen in the future only the exchange site and crypto payment service that is centralized that will be regulated.

 

[TimeTeller]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.
But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

News usually travel fast and if the knowledge about Bitcoin is mainstream in the next 10years then enough people should also be expected to adapt to Bitcoin mainstream.

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin.
Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

I believe IMF Boss to be crypto enthusiast because she once advise the governments and the institutions to create their own national digital currency cause virtual currency are the perfect solution to economic meltdown and finances.
With that been said, i dont see IMF refulatung crypto and if regulations will happen in the future only the exchange site and crypto payment service that is centralized that will be regulated.

Yes, only institutions or exchanges that are requiring KYC will get the info of their customers and be regulated by the government.
However, not all of them as there are exchanges that only require KYC if you go beyond their daily limit of 2BTC like Binance.
Still, if you don't want to be connected with your crypto transactions, there are other options for you to convert your crypto.
In the next 10 years, I think there are a lot of merchants that are already accepting crypto as well as big companies that have crypto within their system, not only PayPal.

[Myleschetty]

Centralization is inevitable if Bitcoin will be mainstream and what cause this is the scam activities done through ICOs then that make SEC implemented KYC/AML but Bitcoin can not be regulated by any government bodies. However, the IMF and others can only regulate some companies that are licensed by SEC or others centralized government agency.

[Wawa2013]

It is definitely regulation inevitable, because the government always wants to control everything including cryptocurrency.
So it's no wonder that currently most exchanges have implemented KYC, and countries that accept cryptocurrency have
started imposing taxes on any transactions using cryptocurrency. The more mainstream Bitcoin is, the more likely we will
lose privacy when using Bitcoin. Because that is the risk that will occur if Bitcoin mass adoption does occur.

[gantez]

This regulates Bitcoin itself.

Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

Your question has made it more popular that regulating bitcoin itself can't be possible. It is only exchange that can be regulated if the need be and every account under that exchange can be monitored if required.

[CarnagexD]

Regulation is inevitable. Right now most centralized exchanges don't  serve unverified customers. We have to deal with KYC and AML rules.

Regulation to combat scammery and coin theft... Prety interesting. Although that also means losing a bit of bitcoin's functions just to do these. Unless we have a more advance way of executing these without violating bitcoin's functions, I'm not sure when or if we will even get these news.

[maxreish]

If you'd noticed, anything that comes to be popular will be regulated in time by th government. And bitcoin is no exemption. About your question if this is possible? Yes it is. Some countries already started to regulate cryptocurrency preferably bitcoin.

You can check it here that few countries already regulate btc. Government has a good purpose for implementing this as we know that most of the fraudsters are using the new trend to scam people.

[Yatsan]

We still do not certainly know and time will only tell if after such a span of time, lots of people can now be able to adapt on using Bitcoin worldwide. Probably, it will be regulated for there are instances that government will interfere and allow themselves to join into the discussion presenting themselves to the people the Bitcoin usage must be regulated due to certain issues and concerns that they think must be attended in advance to prevent the possible damage it can create. Surely once lots of people demand to use Bitcoin and it become mainstream within a certain span of time, government will stand in between to allow the adaption and usage but with regulation just like what they are doing on managing and regulating fiat currencies. Regulation will follow once the government see how people drastically demand on using it.

[yhiaali3]

I think that if a group of countries or the International Monetary Fund controls Bitcoin and regulates it in the future, then Bitcoin at that time will be no different from fiat at the present time, as these countries will impose their strict laws and conditions on all Bitcoin transfers and will also impose identity verification by (kYC) and more, and Bitcoin will turn into something more like decentralization and lose all of its current features.

[claire_lovely]

The trend towards the future will be towards more decentralized exchange, with UniSwap recently surpassing CoinBase's volume. There will always be demand for anonymous trading and money holding and cryptocurrencies will continue to evolve in that direction, Bitcoin is becoming more private with Taproot/Schnorr, and LTC is getting MimbleWimble implementation soon.

The idea of regulation compliant cryptocurrency also doesn't make sense as regulations are different around the world and it would be impossible to fit under all of them at the same time. This is why I believe the coins that focus on the actual technology and use rather than being compliant with regulations will succeed in the long term.

[celot]

Regarding bitcoin as legal or illegal as currency transaction depend how government want to adopt bitcoin and altcoin or not, I think each government have different ideas with bitcoin impact, some of them have seen how increase and most friendly transaction when using bitcoin will think more ahead to use bitcoin as legal currency payment because they want to get their country one step ahead than other country. How possibility when using bitcoin to take short time for sending and receiving money, how much your money less inflation when using bitcoin as transaction assets than you have use fiat or cash money where every year have lower value, but with bitcoin as currency payment transaction have function how to make double profit with higher price later.

[jademaxsuy]

Yes time will come that bitcoin will be regulated and will be restricted especially if it can create more abuses from other users taking advantage of the system.

For now bitcoin is doing well and that help others to earn by investing into it. This is why it is very encouraging to invest in bitcoin with the possible earning tha could be made.

If only the mindset of the people will only eye on investment, optional payment method and others. Bitcoin should not be use in illegal activities. Hopefully, regulations will be able to help reduce other users abusing bitcoin.

[Ozero]

Governments will not allow means of payment on their territory that they cannot regulate.  Governments cannot change the technology of cryptocurrency, but they can and will establish their own rules for its circulation and use by society.  If for some reason they cannot regulate the cryptocurrency in this way, they will prohibit its circulation.  Therefore, we will be forced to agree to such regulation of the cryptocurrency, this is absolutely inevitable.

[Xinarae*]

Bitcoin will be able to control if Bitcoin becomes acceptable everywhere but it will take a long time for the whole government to get its hands on it. The government does not legitimize Bitcoin because it cannot control it. Many investors and many companies cannot use them for their own benefit, illegal activities, because they are not under the control of the government. Crypto decentralized government control is almost inevitable. If there is government intervention, it will never be able to control it well.

[Debonaire217]

Governments will not allow means of payment on their territory that they cannot regulate.  Governments cannot change the technology of cryptocurrency, but they can and will establish their own rules for its circulation and use by society.  If for some reason they cannot regulate the cryptocurrency in this way, they will prohibit its circulation.  Therefore, we will be forced to agree to such regulation of the cryptocurrency, this is absolutely inevitable.

The easiest way this could be possible is when they have control over banks as the financial institution will be the key for people to buy and sell cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. Banks might not fully adopt Bitcoin as of the moment. Most of the banks are strict and I think the reason behind this is because they might be waiting for the full comprehensive regulation by the Government on how they should treat Bitcoin. This is inevitable, the government will find its way to somehow put a tax on the activities we are doing such as trading and providing services.

Perhaps, they need to hire some cryptocurrency enthusiasts in order to fully impose Bitcoin and cryptocurrency regulations but the problem is that, those who really understand what cryptocurrency is all about will not really in favor of them as cryptocurrency is independent.

[Lorokan]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.
But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin. Tracking coins and banning the sale of coins for fiat by exchanges if they come from certain regions ( exchanges, wallet suppliers). Illegalization of the exchange of Fiat for Bitcoin, with the regulation again targeting exchanges as entry points.

This regulates Bitcoin itself.

Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

Having a mainstream of bitcoin in every countries has nothing to do with regulation of bitcoin; also having a crypto currency exchanges in each countries does not mean that bitcoin will regulate too; regulation of crypto currency in different countries has so fa targeted centralized exchanges; while decentralized exchange remain safe for now.

I believe it is better for everyone to enjoy involvement with crypo currency until regulation

[lifeforcepools]

Regulation is possible and even necessary, but the main thing is that it does not change the basic crypto paradigm

[sttvn]

I think it will still be usable as cash, some limit before your customer will be mandated for example 2k.

Or they might try to heavily regulate with demanding everyone tells their addresses to the gov, I don't see how would that be possible to do fully since you can always make new address and just keep quite about it not tying it up with real identity. We currently see growth of privacy, anonymity cenosrhip bypass tools as well as surveliance tools.

Also privacy coins might get more popular such as Monero, those would be more controlled or even illegal.  

[pawanjain]

In my perspective I think bitcoin will surely be regulated by governments when it becomes a mainstream cryptocurrency.
Masses will start adapting to the regulation and the financial system will have fiat as well as bitcoin as payment methods.
Also, I think governments will only benefit more by regulating bitcoin as they will be able to obtain more tax from their citizens.

[imstillthebest]

In my perspective I think bitcoin will surely be regulated by governments when it becomes a mainstream cryptocurrency.
Masses will start adapting to the regulation and the financial system will have fiat as well as bitcoin as payment methods.
Also, I think governments will only benefit more by regulating bitcoin as they will be able to obtain more tax from their citizens.

if we dont agree to the regulation given by the government we are free to let go btc but will you ? for me i cant afford to do that and im going to accept if what fate will happen to btc .
 it will only feel awkward at first but if we think that when btc is in the mainstream that means more people will use it and the more the crimes will also happen but regulatiom can play a major role to combat that .

government do also their job in helping minimize crimes that exist in btc and they deserve to get benefit from btc .

[Ratash]

As long as the crypto and bitcoin are decentralised currencies there won't be regulation because the world system is benefiting from the fact that all the money is centralized and they have complete control over it, why would they lose this privilege.

[GeorgeJohn]

See I believe that nothing that can't be achievable if follow proper step, its seem as Eve bitcoin is old based on it's influence across the countries, which looking at it everyone will say that is not possible but the possibility is there if really given  bitcoin some measures or time, I hope its regulations will soon come in feature existence

[Lorence.xD]

I dont think Bitcoin will become mainstream as a currency.
I suspect there could be a new player that adapts the bitcoin philosophy and method and becomes mainstream.
Bitcoin was the innovator but I think it will be overtaken. A bit like how AOL, alta vista etc got overtaken.

It will be a difficult endeavor for a predecessor replicate the success of bitcoin, by the time that something new appears, people will not take notice of it because they are already hooked in bitcoin, the only possible thing that can happen is that something far better and superior at every aspect will appear. It will be hard to imagine how it will be more superior than bitcoin but it will be difficult.

[Anonylz]

I think that if a group of countries or the International Monetary Fund controls Bitcoin and regulates it in the future, then Bitcoin at that time will be no different from fiat at the present time, as these countries will impose their strict laws and conditions on all Bitcoin transfers and will also impose identity verification by (kYC) and more, and Bitcoin will turn into something more like decentralization and lose all of its current features.

It will some how comes to this if we want government of all countries to adopt and accept btc as a mode of transaction by shifting away from fiat,
No government of any country will accept the use of a totally decentralise currency without any form of regulations, I don't see that happening, so the dream of government accepting it will still be more on theory than in practice.

[adzino]

The regulation is actually inevitable. See for yourself. As time is passing, more and more exchanges are getting regulated. If the exchanges don't comply, they get shutdown by the government authorities. Look how slowly all exchanges are making people eventually go through the KYC process.
But no, the government won't ban those exchanges. Instead they will use those exchanges to regulate the whole system.

[AniviaBtc]

How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

You use and hold it regardless. Hopefully by then bitcoin would have more privacy features to help non-techie people achieve more privacy.

I knew that bitcoin community will not let bitcoin to become so open where security is not a priority.

Probably as bitcoin is reaching the mainstream, people will make also a platform in the future where they will still make an exchange that will strictly keeps information of someone when they make transactions. In bitcoin, privacy is one of the most important so the security of everyone who will engage to it will be guaranteed.

[Bitstar_coin]

Regulation is inevitable, the more big companies join crypto the more they find a way to introduce some level of regulation and control, even though btc is decentralise but the organisations and companies adopting btc will not want it so, they will find a way to have control which we can already experience through kyc process.

[Casdinyard]

The regulation is actually inevitable. See for yourself. As time is passing, more and more exchanges are getting regulated. If the exchanges don't comply, they get shutdown by the government authorities. Look how slowly all exchanges are making people eventually go through the KYC process.
But no, the government won't ban those exchanges. Instead they will use those exchanges to regulate the whole system.

More likely to happen. Governments has no full control of the transactions involving cryptos due to the nature of de centralization. But of course they will do things in order to put taxes in almost everything, kidding aside. But frankly, once something involves money, most of the time taxation will follow. And this will be made possible through third party networks in which we can observe at this moment wherein more third party networks are being interested with cryptos, unlike before wherein they are in doubt of its advantages. So maybe, adoption through network and exchanges is part of the regulation.

[pixie85]

Regulation is inevitable, the more big companies join crypto the more they find a way to introduce some level of regulation and control, even though btc is decentralise but the organisations and companies adopting btc will not want it so, they will find a way to have control which we can already experience through kyc process.

It is but you cannot regulate something that does not depend on you.

Like, you can regulate companies because they have to register with the government so if they don't agree to be regulated you will not allow them to register and function.

Bitcoin doesn't need your approval to function which is why you cannot regulate it. You can only regulate exchanges.

[Zionatin]

They can't even regulate the drug industry what makes you think they can crypto? There way more important problems out there to discuss and sole first. I am not worried.

Regulation is inevitable, the more big companies join crypto the more they find a way to introduce some level of regulation and control, even though btc is decentralise but the organisations and companies adopting btc will not want it so, they will find a way to have control which we can already experience through kyc process.

It is but you cannot regulate something that does not depend on you.

Like, you can regulate companies because they have to register with the government so if they don't agree to be regulated you will not allow them to register and function.

Bitcoin doesn't need your approval to function which is why you cannot regulate it. You can only regulate exchanges.

Yex exactly. It's like trying to regulate street vendors or hawkers. It's never going to happen. If bitcoin could be regulated it would just be abused by the government like everything else.

[Searing]

They can't even regulate the drug industry what makes you think they can crypto? There way more important problems out there to discuss and sole first. I am not worried.

Regulation is inevitable, the more big companies join crypto the more they find a way to introduce some level of regulation and control, even though btc is decentralise but the organisations and companies adopting btc will not want it so, they will find a way to have control which we can already experience through kyc process.

It is but you cannot regulate something that does not depend on you.

Like, you can regulate companies because they have to register with the government so if they don't agree to be regulated you will not allow them to register and function.

Bitcoin doesn't need your approval to function which is why you cannot regulate it. You can only regulate exchanges.

Yex exactly. It's like trying to regulate street vendors or hawkers. It's never going to happen. If bitcoin could be regulated it would just be abused by the government like everything else.

That does not mean that 'regulators' in my view, the Trump Administration, can toss a monkey wrench into Bitcoin as they wander out the door. They have never

been fans and currently they are tossing out lots and lots of dubious regulations to muddy the waters for the next Biden Administration. This is their chance to take a parting shot at BTC/Crypto as they go out the door, regardless of how they

may actually ever get done, and the regulatioin redacted under next adminstration or killed.

Just FUD to counter act the FOMO of Bitcoin and Altcoin pump here recently. So IF there is as the official in the link below states,

there 'will be' clarity of BTC/Crypto Regulations in 4-6 weeks. (which would put it 5 days before Biden was sworn in on this comment)

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/04/top-currency-regulator-says-to-expect-clarity-in-coming-weeks-on-bitcoin.html

https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-ceo-trump-administration-may-rush-out-burdensome-crypto-wallet-rules

I think this is likely, and I think it will likely be as the CEO of Coinbase said, they will go after user-hosted wallets in the regulation via US exchanges.

Which is stupid, I'd just do a KYC in Canada where this 'extra step' is not done. Anyway, I'm assuming this FUD will happen and they as they have in all

regulations on crypto, initially get it wrong. Remember the IRS rollout of rules in 2014? Thus this FUD will likely drive price of BTC/Crypto IMHO down

and sideways for 4-6 months until the next administration fixes this and their 'dubious' last-minute lame-duck regulations flying out of the Trump

The administration just to muddy the waters. This is just one regulation of 100s that will have to be addressed. I also think that this is being rushed

through to 'harm' Bitcoin/Crypto in that they had 'no meetings, closed or otherwise, it looks like a parting shot just to be mean.

Thus, cheap coins people. My own view is this winter is gonna suck, pandemic, recession, everyone having to 'grow up' and see the USA is in a world of hurt.

then the anger/denial/etc, etc. I myself expect everything to take a 30% hit or more, even Bitcoin ..my floor is around $13k and sideways until this and

other clusterf*ck 'reign in BTC/Crypto' plans are discarded. This has probably in a major FUD way happened 3 times in the past, the FUD and dubious

regulations and the rest worldwide...but never happens..it eventually gets resolved. Always seems to happen also when the economy takes a downturn

and 'wow' Bitcoin/Altcoins pump. You have FOMO you are gonna have FUD and backlash like the CEO of Coinbase says is maybe gonna happen. So think

cheap coins..this too shall pass....but this and for other reasons, this winter is gonna suck big time for folks as a wake-up call of just how bad things are.

Little way in denial IMHO...recession/pandemic/shutdowns....reality sucks..and this will be our small part of FUD we will have to deal with.

So there will be confusion, some price loss, the usual dealing with such FUD...and the price of BTC/Crypto will likely go down, but if all it takes is

for a lame-duck, Trump Administration tossing out a rule not vetted by the experts but simply tossed out as FUD from the higher end political overrides and

rule writing of a fading Trump

Administration, well...if that can seriously cripple BTC/crypto w/o major pushback at this point in time to stop such, well BTC/Crypto is doomed.

Again, FUD and FOMO and ATH or rinse/wash/repeat we have all seen this before. Big Whoop!

So a drop in BTC/Crypto prices may be as much as down to $13k and sideways until FUD, as per usual, is resolved..then blastoff in the spring of 2021

at worst, IMHO. So look at it as 'cheap coins' if it causes the problems above, again the worse case, which again, as a worse case above...we've seen it

before and will see it again, and overcome it.

[Yudhisthir]

There's a rumor that the government would investigate the wealth of people selling bitcoin in a large quantity is going viral. Not sure if this is a real thing or someone's trying to decrease the price of BTC or trying to stop whales from selling. With people buying and selling it on centralized exchange, finding that would be easier. But I hope if they go through it, they consider the initial investment and not the final value.

[manfredmann]

Yes, it could be but for now low chances that it can happe due to countries with different rulings over things like cryptocurrency and might not be agreeable to all. This is why I am saying that low chances that it could be regulated if this will be the process. However, in some countries regulations is already for cryptocurrency is already implemented and that by limiting their constituents the access of buying different crypto especially if this is not been acknowledge by the government.

[Om.monata]

In 10 years, knowledge about Bitcoin will be mainstream.
But will enough people have adapted to this mainstream by then?

Once it has become mainstream, a group of countries - or even the IMF itself - could regulate all access to Bitcoin. Tracking coins and banning the sale of coins for fiat by exchanges if they come from certain regions ( exchanges, wallet suppliers). Illegalization of the exchange of Fiat for Bitcoin, with the regulation again targeting exchanges as entry points.

This regulates Bitcoin itself.

Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

for bitcoin business, actually nobody can manage bitcoin. this happens because bitcoin is independent. only the government in a country that can regulate but to the extent the rules in that country, cannot completely regulate the bitcoin in the market because they do not have rights

[hatshepsut93]

Like, you can regulate companies because they have to register with the government so if they don't agree to be regulated you will not allow them to register and function.

Bitcoin doesn't need your approval to function which is why you cannot regulate it. You can only regulate exchanges.

Bitcoin is a currency, so regulating exchanges is a pretty big deal. If governments can regulate the majority of Bitcoin's volume, then it's pretty close to having Bitcoin itself regulated. In this scenario there will be 2 parallel Bitcoin ecosystem - the legal one, which follows the regulations, and the shadow Bitcoin economy. If most people will interact with Bitcoin through centralized platforms like exchanges or PayPal, then the regulators may consider their goals achieved.

[Innerpumper]

Is this possible?
How can we defend Bitcoin against it?

I don't think that's possible, even some of those countries that prohibit the development of bitcoin such as the USA and China still have startup cryptocurrency projects there, and not a few of them successfully survive in a few years to make a profit. However, it would be better if we followed that regulation if there were no losses on the part of governments, investors, communities, and projects, it would definitely increase public confidence in projects built for a bright future.