As a technologist, I'm sure this is an enjoyable mental model to hold (tech speaking to and overriding traditional power), but let's look at Edward Snowden's situation for example. He's persona non grata with no recourse (albeit for violating the law with, arguably, moral and ethical intentions), and there is nothing preventing the same happening to those who deeply believe in crypto and attempting to subvert government regulation by using it for the transfer of money or value.

This is far different from battles such as PGP's export as a munition [1], which at least had freedom of speech protections as the argument for challenging the US government's position and regulation.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_from_th...