$15 billion seized by US originates from Iran/China bitcoin miner "theft"

[FREIVOGEL231]

Maybe there is some logic behind it maybe you support bringing justice which didn't really happen
The question isn't about restrictions Do you support it to stop criminals and loss your privacy?

Real question is how they been able to do it not just the robbers also the government?

in my opinion The elite haven't just bought Bitcoin - they've taken control of the remote.

They let us believe we were building a decentralized system while they were busy building the cages: the regulated on/off ramps (KYC/AML), the derivatives markets, and the ETFs. maybe also involved in the coding.

Now they hold the remote. They can freeze your "decentralized" coins, manipulate the price through paper Bitcoin, and decide who gets to enter and exit. We built the car, but they stole the keys.

And now, the opportunity is narrowing before us.

We are at a crossroads where either someone emerges to bring the temple down upon everyone's heads, or we truly become prisoners inside the very system we supported.

What was once a treasure you could store in your home and hide has now become a treasure stored right before their eyes. The sovereignty we fought for is being replaced by supervised custody.

The protocol maybe still pure, but our access to it is being systematically filtered through their control panel. The question is no longer if they can watch, but when they will choose to act (Take full control).

[rat03gopoh]

in my opinion The elite haven't just bought Bitcoin - they've taken control of the remote.

They let us believe we were building a decentralized system while they were busy building the cages: the regulated on/off ramps (KYC/AML), the derivatives markets, and the ETFs. maybe also involved in the coding.

Now they hold the remote. They can freeze your "decentralized" coins, manipulate the price through paper Bitcoin, and decide who gets to enter and exit.

I don't understand what you are trying to explain here (title and content seem uncorrelated), are you talking about exchange elites?
This isn't a universal consequence; you can still exercise your right to decentralization if you wish.

Some of the top 100 richest Bitcoin addresses are owned by centralized entities like exchanges. Each address is the accumulation of many Bitcoin users who haven't exercised their right to decentralization. This isn't an attempt by elites to control Bitcoin(since it's uncontrolable); there are simply more speculators than users.

[FREIVOGEL231]

You're right to point out that individuals can still exercise their right to decentralization,That technical right still exists but you're missing the forest for the trees

My point is that the practical reality of Bitcoin is being systematically reshaped and the $15 billion seizure is the ultimate proof.


This isn't a universal consequence; you can still exercise your right
Technically, yes. You can run a node, use a hardware wallet, and make a peer-to-peer transaction.
Practically, how? To acquire Bitcoin, majority of people use a KYC exchange. To spend it, they need merchants who often use BitPay or other KYC processors. To cash out for life-changing money, they must pass through a regulated off-ramp. The "right" to decentralization is like the "right" to live off the grid—technically possible, but practically inaccessible for the vast majority, and surrounded by the system's infrastructure.
" Top 100 richest Bitcoin addresses are owned by centralized entities... This isn't an attempt by elites to control Bitcoin."
This is exactly my point. You see it as a natural accumulation. I see it as the centralization of liquidity and power.
When BlackRock, Fidelity, and Coinbase hold the keys to hundreds of thousands of BTC, they don't need to control the protocol. They control the market. They are the system's new, too-big-to-fail banks. The $15 billion seizure didn't happen by hacking a private key, it happened by serving a order to a custodian—precisely the kind of centralized entity that now dominates the ecosystem.
The protocol is uncontrollable. The ecosystem is not.
They don't need to control the code. They control the on-ramps, the entrance , the derivatives, the ETFs, and the narrative. The $15 billion story is not about a protocol failure; it's about an ecosystem success for the regulators. They proved they can use their control of the perimeter to seize assets on the "uncontrollable" network.

You say there are "more speculators than users." That's not a bug; it's the feature of the new system they've built. They have financialized Bitcoin into just another asset class, encouraging speculation over sovereign use
 The elites aren't trying to break Bitcoin; they're building a comfortable, controlled, and highly profitable zoo around it.

15 billion $ seizure is the proof-of-concept that the "remote control" I described is real and operational.

[rat03gopoh]

You say there are "more speculators than users." That's not a bug; it's the feature of the new system they've built. They have financialized Bitcoin into just another asset class, encouraging speculation over sovereign use
 The elites aren't trying to break Bitcoin; they're building a comfortable, controlled, and highly profitable zoo around it.

I don't think this is something that emerged because of a new "control tool"; the banking system started "remote control," and no one was left unscathed. Speculators have always looked for value differences to seize opportunities, even before Bitcoin. They rarely or almost never talk about technicalities, just price, price, and price. 100 speculators could absorb 100 million people still trying to escape poverty through speculation.

In fact, when some succeed in eradicating their poverty, they'll look for ways to "liberate" what they have achieved and that's when they try to become protocol users.

[PrivacyG]

If Bitcoin fails at what it was supposed to be then in my opinion there is no fight worth fighting any more because it means EVERYTHING is rigged and we are have been played all along.  It means there is no way we can escape the dirty system and it means the only real option will be exchanging goods for goods.  Carrots for apples, no Fiat involved, no Bitcoin involved.

They can not 'freeze' your Bitcoin.  Some Miners can censor you and not include your Transaction in their mined Block but there will come a time when another Miner who did not censor you will pick your Transaction up.  I agree we are at some sort of cross roads.  But it is not only Bitcoin.  It is a global cross road between freedom and dystopia.  The time is ticking.  I repeat, if Bitcoin fails then it must be clear to all of us, the world is doomed.

[FREIVOGEL231]

If Bitcoin fails at what it was supposed to be then in my opinion there is no fight worth fighting any more because it means EVERYTHING is rigged and we are have been played all along.  It means there is no way we can escape the dirty system and it means the only real option will be exchanging goods for goods.  Carrots for apples, no Fiat involved, no Bitcoin involved.

They can not 'freeze' your Bitcoin.  Some Miners can censor you and not include your Transaction in their mined Block but there will come a time when another Miner who did not censor you will pick your Transaction up.  I agree we are at some sort of cross roads.  But it is not only Bitcoin.  It is a global cross road between freedom and dystopia.  The time is ticking.  I repeat, if Bitcoin fails then it must be clear to all of us, the world is doomed.

bitcoin isn't the end goal it's just the starting point
the struggle to control bitcoin proves its success, but it also highlights the biggest challenge (bitcoin is fighting the wrong battle)
we're so busy defending bitcoin that we're missing the bigger picture the traditional financial system is already building the next generation of control. they've successfully turned bitcoin into just another investment asset instead of letting it become the foundation for a new economic system
old system isn't attacking bitcoin directly, they're making it irrelevant by turning it into just another speculative asset, perhaps we are distracted by arguing about who controls it, they watched bitcoin revolution and learned:

-people want digital money? fine, we'll give them digital money.
-people want instant settlement? fine, we'll provide it.
-but we'll keep the control, the surveillance, the freeze buttons, the blacklists.

bitcoin was meant to be the foundation and like gold in the old system, bitcoin was meant to be the solid immutable base layer, but you can't build a functioning economy on a foundation alone.
a daily transaction layer is required through complementary digital currencies not competitors to bitcoin, maybe backed by real-world assets as they are designed for daily use, not just for saving.

[pooya87]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/chairman-prince-group-indicted-operating-cambodian-forced-labor-scam-compounds-engaged
I have no idea what Iran or China have to do with a Cambodian business that has been working in over 30 countries.

Now they hold the remote. They can freeze your "decentralized" coins, manipulate the price through paper Bitcoin, and decide who gets to enter and exit. We built the car, but they stole the keys.

Nobody can "freeze" bitcoin as long as what people are using is bitcoin not some IOU they get when they deposit their coins in some centralized account. And there is no such thing as "paper bitcoin"...

[SilverCryptoBullet]

Nobody can "freeze" bitcoin as long as what people are using is bitcoin not some IOU they get when they deposit their coins in some centralized account. And there is no such thing as "paper bitcoin"...

Nobody, no government can freeze bitcoins stored in non custodial wallets of any person or entity. They only can arrest you, and make a command to you for self-freeze your bitcoins, your bitcoin UTXOs in your wallets. Without your action, they can not do such bitcoin freeze in non custodial wallets.

Altcoins are different and through smart contracts, governments can freeze your altcoins for example stable coins easily.
PSA: Most Stablecoins Can Be Frozen, Even in Your Own Wallets.
Stable coin blacklists.

[FortuneFollower]

If you are not on a CEX or an entity like that - your BTCs cannot be just poofed or blocked, as other outlined, so no worries in that regard.

There are no levers for higher ups to do so on BTC as of now