Could China (or similar) take control of Bitcoin?

[Nothingtodo]

China has banned Bitcoin several times before and the announcement of this ban by China had a huge negative impact on the market.  But that negative effect didn't last long so I think China alone won't have much control over Bitcoin.  However, China has a large number of investors and these investors can have a great impact on the Bitcoin market.  However, it will not be possible for China alone to take complete control of the Bitcoin market.

[FanEagle]

For 80% the point would be that if you want to change something in the chain, like for good, as in "take over" then you need 85% to be exact not 51% because that is what the rule literally says for blockchain. Just for example, BCH tried to change bitcoin's blockchain, they got rejected, people didn't use it and people just ignored it, that is how it worked, we didn't accepted their offer, however when we added segwit, 85%+ suddenly accepted it and now we can use it, that is how it goes.

You may ask "why" but that number wasn't picked by us, that is just how it works and we go with it, like saying "why 21 million and not 42 million?", we didn't pick the 21 million neither, and that was just something that bitcoin had when it was started, same goes for all those logic questions.

[Bushdark]

China has banned Bitcoin several times before and the announcement of this ban by China had a huge negative impact on the market.  But that negative effect didn't last long so I think China alone won't have much control over Bitcoin.  However, China has a large number of investors and these investors can have a great impact on the Bitcoin market.  However, it will not be possible for China alone to take complete control of the Bitcoin market.

I think China is one of the countries that hasarge numbers of Bitcoin in their portfolio and that would keep growing soon.
We can always make money from Bitcoin if we are able to hold which is what many investors are practicing so a better future.
It is important we look for ways even though we might not have the funds to invest but their are things we can do to earn extra funds and invest it in the market. I think China could be the largest holders of Bitcoin after the United States

[Iranus]

Talking about whether China or any country can control bitcoin or not, I think there will be no exact answer. The answer "yes" is just everyone's speculation, none of us know the true strength of the Chinese government, how can they arbitrarily give such an answer? Also, if you consider that they can control bitcoin, that means they can also destroy it but why haven't they done that so far and can only issue a ban?

No country is strong enough to control, stop or destroy bitcoin. That will only happen if all governments join hands, but this scenario is even more unlikely. That's why governments that don't like bitcoin can only issue a ban and can't do anything else.

 

No, as we discussed here, China absolutely could take over Bitcoin if they wanted to, as could any country with their resources. I agree that they probably don't want to, but that doesn't mean that it's impossible, or that Bitcoin is some sort of magical force that can withstand any conceivable attack.

That's your opinion and I respect it but I still won't change my opinion and won't be convinced unless you have proof of China's power that can actually take over bitcoin. Do you work in a Chinese government agency or any other government agency? Because like I said, if they can do that then they can destroy it too, but why is it all just a ban now and they can't do anything else with bitcoin?

I don't belittle or underestimate any government but thinking that they can do whatever they want is not necessarily true. There will still be barriers, things that they will never take over or destroy, which is why bans, blocks, warnings...are created.

[stompix]

That's your opinion and I respect it but I still won't change my opinion and won't be convinced unless you have proof of China's power that can actually take over bitcoin.

And what proof do you have that it can't be done other than your belief?

All this is simple math on equations we know, we know the network is protected by roughly 600Exahash, we know we need roughly 2.5 million new generation ASICs worth around 12 billion and drawing 10GW of power to overcome that.
We know the central budget of China is 3.5 trillion, we know their total installed capacity is 2.2 TWH.

So why do you think it would be impossible?

Because like I said, if they can do that then they can destroy it too, but why is it all just a ban now and they can't do anything else with bitcoin?

You're confusing the unwillingness to do something with the inability to do it.
This is the same as VPNs , China could at any time kill them all since they control everything there, they will simply ban every gateway out of their GFC but they don't go to extremes because they want to give the people the mirage of freedom, if they will feel threatened by it, you're going to see what authoritarian control means.

[legiteum]

I don't belittle or underestimate any government but thinking that they can do whatever they want is not necessarily true. There will still be barriers, things that they will never take over or destroy, which is why bans, blocks, warnings...are created.

Bitcoin is being regulated by governments because a lot of consumers are using it, and like anything that becomes a part of consumer financial life, problems arise. But these regulations ultimately help the market because it makes it safer for your average consumer to enter it, and reduces social downsides (e.g. terrorism and criminality).

And while I agree with everybody here that it's currently unlikely China (or some other big country*) would want to do this to Bitcoin, it's important to understand that it's absolutely possible.

(* On another thread, we've discussed the possibility of the USA doing this if Trump was elected, so he could kill Bitcoin and force everybody to use his own personal currency instead--for instance...).

[graphite]

But, what can they get after this? To earn more profit? However, I think people will stop supporting BTC once they figured out that it is now fully centralized and China can only get a bad reputation which I'm sure they don't like for it to happen.

Controlling the network wouldn't yield any profit but if your enemy uses it as a reserve currency taking control would be catastrophic to them. If NATO or USA adopted bitcoin like el salvador then China would have a reason to take down bitcoin.

[Zanab247]

I wonder why you're even taking China into consideration on this because they will always have the reason to adopt their own CBDC and enforces their citizens to adopt the same as well, then cant raise support for the use of cryptocurrency, because its not what is going to make them regulate the economy as they wanted, while bitcoin is even a decentralized digital currency, i don't think any of these is possible to happen in the future with them because right from the onset, we already know the way they have always been fighting against the use of crypto within their country.

China can only be part of those countries that adopted BTC for the growth of their economy which China have done before, before they discovered that it will make their fiat money useless in the country that made them to begin to create another alternative for their people to get connected to centralized currency to ignore cryptocurrency in the country.

BTC is a decentralized currency, which China cannot control to achieve their goal like the way they use to control their fiat money to grow and develop their economy, because they have all the strategies to make their currency pump and dump but they don't have such strategy on BTC.

The fight is still on in their land, but it will be difficult for China to stop everybody in their country not to buy or sell BTC secretly without the notice of the government, which many bitcoiners are still engaging themselves into cryptocurrency investment.

[legiteum]

[...]
BTC is a decentralized currency, which China cannot control to achieve their goal like the way they use to control their fiat money to grow and develop their economy, because they have all the strategies to make their currency pump and dump but they don't have such strategy on BTC.
[...]

As we've said several times in this thread, China could absolutely take over Bitcoin if they wanted to if they threw enough money at the problem by taking over the hash rate.

In other words, China or some other very large entity could effectively centralize control of Bitcoin if they wanted to, and then do whatever they wanted with it.

Bitcoin is not a myth, it's a piece of software, and it's important that investors understand how it really works as opposed to going by hype concocted by holders of Bitcoin.

[Velemir Sava]

Bitcoin is not a myth, it's a piece of software, and it's important that investors understand how it really works as opposed to going by hype concocted by holders of Bitcoin.

I don't think it's wrong for you to say that historically this has been the case but not all Chinese items will be controlled. Unless the inventor of BTC is also Chinese, it will be easy for China to master the technology and all the important items in BTC.

If it is possible to dominate the largest number of holdings, it is possible but controlling is certainly not.

[legiteum]

Bitcoin is not a myth, it's a piece of software, and it's important that investors understand how it really works as opposed to going by hype concocted by holders of Bitcoin.

I don't think it's wrong for you to say that historically this has been the case but not all Chinese items will be controlled. Unless the inventor of BTC is also Chinese, it will be easy for China to master the technology and all the important items in BTC.

If it is possible to dominate the largest number of holdings, it is possible but controlling is certainly not.

What does Satoshi have to do with anything? He doesn't control Bitcoin in any way. I don't think you understand how Bitcoin... actually works. You really should educate yourself before you post.

And being a holder of Bitcoin doesn't make any difference either.

Again, if want to learn how Bitcoin actually works, you should read this thread from the beginning...

[Medusah]

(* On another thread, we've discussed the possibility of the USA doing this if Trump was elected, so he could kill Bitcoin and force everybody to use his own personal currency instead--for instance...).

Recently, he began welcoming Bitcoin donations, a shift that occurred a few years after he boasted about the dollar and dismissed Bitcoin as a scam.  It seems he has now recognized its potential.

BTC is a decentralized currency, which China cannot control to achieve their goal like the way they use to control their fiat money to grow and develop their economy, because they have all the strategies to make their currency pump and dump but they don't have such strategy on BTC.

A nation cannot control Bitcoin; its only option would be to attempt to destroy it entirely.  Bitcoin cannot be subject to China's censorship and still function as intended.  It either operates as intended, or it does not. 

[legiteum]

(* On another thread, we've discussed the possibility of the USA doing this if Trump was elected, so he could kill Bitcoin and force everybody to use his own personal currency instead--for instance...).

Recently, he began welcoming Bitcoin donations, a shift that occurred a few years after he boasted about the dollar and dismissed Bitcoin as a scam.  It seems he has now recognized its potential.

Yes, and that should scare the hell out of Bitcoin investors because that means he knows cryptocurrency is a way he can make money.

A nation cannot control Bitcoin; its only option would be to attempt to destroy it entirely.  Bitcoin cannot be subject to China's censorship and still function as intended.  It either operates as intended, or it does not. 

Any entity that took over 51% of the hashrate controls Bitcoin. That's the way the system works. It would be enormously expensive for any individual or even a group of billionaires, but relatively straight-forward for a major country like China.

Now, if you mean "as intended" as in the original idea of Bitcoin, then it doesn't even operate that way today since most Bitcoin holders do so in a centralized way through a broker or an app. Today, in actual fact, Bitcoin is simply a meme investment instrument for almost everybody who holds it.

[0t3p0t]

It’s definitely possible and knowing China, I know they will do everything to get it done especially if it is the way to get something they want (and they want a lot of things). I can see China doing this for political gain, how? That I am not sure but one thing’s for sure if China were to take control of 50% of bitcoin investors might lose some confidence on the coin.

Yeah could be possible only if China is willing to spend a whole lot of money just to take control of the Bitcoin market no doubt about that as we all know how clever chinese when it comes to money making or business or almost anything. But I think if China has to do this thing they are just wasting their time for it unless they have something that will benefit their intention.

That could be possible for me but I doubt any party will take the risk of crashing Bitcoin because all of these powerful nations are currently having trade wars, tensions and military expansion so why do they bother spending more money into something that could possibly delay their country's progress right? Nowadays, countries all over the world are busy pumping their military expenditures for some reasons.

[Medusah]

Yes, and that should scare the hell out of Bitcoin investors because that means he knows cryptocurrency is a way he can make money.

I wouldn't argue that Trump endorsing Bitcoin is beneficial for investors, but why should it terrify them?  He's simply another public figure attempting to capitalize on it.

Any entity that took over 51% of the hashrate controls Bitcoin.

If you possess 51% of the hashrate and utilize it for Bitcoin mining, you're not controlling Bitcoin; you're *simply* earning significant profits.  If you own 51% of the hashrate and use it to censor or reverse transactions, you're effectively undermining Bitcoin, which, in my opinion, doesn't constitute control but rather destruction.  If Bitcoin suffers from 51% attack(s), there is no longer a Bitcoin to control. 

[Finestream]

Could China (or similar) take control of Bitcoin? And my answer is Yes everyone can control of bitcoin if they had enough money and enough resources

And if you talk about a country it definitely can do that, 51% attack is doable right? And then if you want to do price manipulation you can buy as much as bitcoin and then can be act as a whale. Tho this is just my opinion guys

I guess China has all the chances to control bitcoin if they really aim to. Simply because they hold more than 50% of bitcoin and certainly act as a big whale that will take control the movement of bitcoin. Same like India and US that hold more than 50% amount of bitcoin, they can also take control bitcoin if they really want to. But we all know China is definitely more controlling more than other countries. Not just for bitcoin, but even in other valuable assets that continue to become more valuable in the future.

[oktana]

I don’t think that it is possible but with what you have narrated, China could cause a huge impact if they wanted. And if it happened, The technical implication of it would be FUD. People will be scared of losing their funds. To the broader cryptocurrency sector, confidence will be gone, miners may want to diversify geographically to avoid such from happening again.

[Russlenat]

I don’t think that it is possible but with what you have narrated, China could cause a huge impact if they wanted. And if it happened, The technical implication of it would be FUD. People will be scared of losing their funds. To the broader cryptocurrency sector, confidence will be gone, miners may want to diversify geographically to avoid such from happening again.

With how China experienced being unsuccessful with bitcoin in the previous years, I guess currently is still not different. They might hold more than 51% of bitcoin but it would never guarantee that they will successfully take control of bitcoin now. Yes, they might certainly affect the price of bitcoin and that’s never new for us, but that’s only for temporary, they can’t still take full control of bitcoin no matter what.

[lalabotax]

China, the US, and Russia are big countries that have been providing quite a lot of hot news regarding crypto for a long time. But that doesn't mean they can control crypto easily. Because in the crypto business there are many interests, and they don't just come from 1 country. In fact, this is from various countries and includes other large countries.

However, no matter what happens and what happens in these big countries, the statements that are issued will usually have an effect on profits. but not control

[mirakal]

I don’t think that it is possible but with what you have narrated, China could cause a huge impact if they wanted. And if it happened, The technical implication of it would be FUD. People will be scared of losing their funds. To the broader cryptocurrency sector, confidence will be gone, miners may want to diversify geographically to avoid such from happening again.

I have to agree with you. Bitcoin can hardly become in control with any country even if it’s China, the most influential and the most controlling country in the world. We’ve seen how many times it failed with bitcoin, and even if there are big miners and owners of bitcoin in China, that won’t create a warranty and assurance that bitcoin will be easily controlled by them. Bitcoin is way more highly decentralized, so any country or government who wish to take full control for bitcoin might only fail but may leave a huge impact on bitcoin itself.