Chinese society likely could censor, given the prevalence of mining in that country and their government's love of interference.
And various governments can and have seized bitcoin. This is a fairy tale.
What are they censoring? All transactions? They can only do self-harm in this manner because they must expend large amounts of electricity, perpetually, in order to keep up their censorship, and they don't know what they're censoring. This is assuming that they do indeed have the ability to 51% attack Bitcoin, and that the rest of the world is unable to use the nuclear option of changing their software clients to bypass the 51% attack. (Mining is not the ultimate arbiter of the correct chain - individuals are the ultimate arbiter via their choice of software client). A nuclear option would make all of their hardware immediately useless and eliminate any influence over Bitcoin they may have.
> And various governments can and have seized bitcoin. This is a fairy tale.
They can seize Bitcoin if you leave your private keys on an unencrypted machine, or if you leave your 12 word written phrase lying around at home.
They can't seize your seed phrase or passphrase from your head, which can deterministically generate your bitcoin wallet on any machine. They can't seize it from an encrypted disk either, unless you reveal to them the keys to decrypt it.
In the UK they may be able to force you to hand over keys for decryption or threaten you with 2 years of jail time. Not in the USA.
The point was that, Bitcoin can be made unseizable because it is merely information. This is very unlike dollars, gold, or other physical commodities which can be seized by force, or threat of force, which has been done before - EO 6102. An attempt to try and emulate EO 6102 for Bitcoin would result in a very different outcome.
Authorities in more countries than the UK have seized bitcoin. You make the classic mistake of looking at where the system is hardest and declaring it secure, instead of looking at where it is softest, the user and their systems.
They can't seize fiat if they don't know where I buried it either. Bitcoin is no more secure than that.
Like I said, these are fairy tales you tell yourself about security.
They don't need to seize fiat because they can just print it. They can't print Bitcoin.
And you are right in regards to users being the weak point. Anybody who genuinely cares for the security of their money will use a brain wallet, or at least a 24-word seed phrase coupled with a brain-passphrase.
The latter technique can be used to create "decoys". You can use the same 24-word seed with multiple passphrases, with each being a distinct wallet. If you keep a small amount in the wallet with no passphrase, it may appear to anybody who seizes your 24-words that you only have a small amount of money - but unless they can torture all of your passphrases out of you, they will not necessarily be able to seize all of your money. And since they cannot know how many copies of your 24-word phrase you have made, they cannot know for sure that seizing the copies they find will prevent you from accessing your coins.
Do you coiners ever step back and listen to yourselves?
The level of OpSec suggested is a necessary minimum against an equivalent of EO6102 whereby the government would attempt to seize your bitcoin, presumably so it can issue its own fractionally backed alternative, purporting to be equivalent in value. Fortunately there's a case in recent history which people are all to familiar with and unlikely to fall for the same trick again. Nobody is going to trade in their bitcoin for another government shitcoin, unless they are forced.
If they don't know you have it, and the only place it is stored is in your head, then they can't seize it, and they have no probable cause to commit violence against you.
Personally, I couldn't care less what everyone else does. I only care that my own bitcoin are safe. I'll happily share my knowledge so that other people can secure their money too, but if they don't care, I can't hold their hands for them.
Pretty sure people will take an interest when the dollar begins to hyperinflate and their 401k becomes worthless.
I'm not sure where you get the impression that the dollar is safe. It's an experimental currency which has been around less than 50 years, and over that time it looks less and less likely to have a long term survival.
And the currencies of the western world are going to crash to nothing, while somehow enough internet infrastructure will remain that you and your coiner bros can become the new kings!
At this point you're basically praying for the apocalypse so you can feel superior. It's hilarious.
You seem to think that the dollar crashing will crash civilization. There are dozens of cases of hyperinflation hitting over the past century, particularly since the end of the Bretton Woods agreement - they cause temporary turmoil, and those most affected are the poorest, but recovery happens fairly quickly provided the government steps out of the way and deregulates to allow the economy to repair itself.
If you don't want to be one of those most affected by hyperinflation, it might make sense to have a plan in the event that the USD hyperinflates - since there's nothing to suggest it will be any different to other currencies. I'm not necessarily trying to predict the future, but I'm planning ahead for a potential scenario. To me one that looks increasingly plausible and is merely a question of when, not if.
Part of that planning includes being able to transact if there are disturbances in internet infrastructure. This is why you can transmit and receive Bitcoin over satellite and radio already. The internet will quickly heal because there will be a financial incentive to provide it - earning bitcoin in exchange for the provision of bandwith.
Also, in regards to coiners becoming kings - it is likely that people with significant bitcoin holdings will keep a low profile, else they put a target on their heads. Extravagant displays of wealth seem unlikely and foolish.
There will be no apocalypse because the replacement for the dollar is being built already and it will simply absorb the fallout when the dollar fails. There will be some havoc caused, but the transition will likely happen in steps, with the 2017 bull run being an example of one such step - where a large influx of new users happens at once, followed by a bear market, followed by another bull run which exceeds the previous one.
You don't have to have a backup plan and you can believe everything that your government and "experts" spoon feed you, that's fine too.
Fortunately, Bitcoin fixes this. "Society" has no ability to seize bitcoin or censor its transactions. Soon enough, it won't be able to even detect them.
The mob does not always make the right decisions, especially when they have nothing at stake. Public servants usually have nothing at stake and it is very easy to be wrong when spending other people's money as opposed to your own.
> Or, if you really think not, would you instead be interested in buying some of this oil that will cure not only your aging but also your wife problems? I extract it from a snake, and I think you'll see the benefits of it immediately. (p.s. The oil also makes you immune to covid and meetings!)
I'm all for people being able to sell these non-products, and for people to buy these non-products if they wish for them. While they might not have any meaningful real effect, they can often have a placebo effect which can be beneficial to the purchaser. People are, and should be free to make their own judgements with their money. You can't shelter everyone all the time. If some are no longer able to make sound judgements, they should have support from relatvies with their finances rather than the government.
The current governments around the world are a great example of snake oil salesmen. They've managed to sell everyone an iatrogenic "lockdown" which is harmful their health, with claims that it is for their benefit, with no evidence. Who regulates the government? Who is going to hold these policymakers to account for the excess preventable deaths they've caused which are a result of the lockdowns, as opposed to the mostly unpreventable deaths which were a cause of nature (if we assume the virus is of natural origin)?
There is a cure for Statism at least. It is called Bitcoin.