When a government...

1) owns a profitable state company

2) that does not require the cooperation of the population in order to be profitable

...the result is a dictatorship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs

That sounds a lot like Norway though, didn't they have this massive amount of money from some natural resource (oil I think) and made a big pension fund for the population?

There are obviously also counter-examples, but a currently-democratic country finding a new way to make money from natural resources, I wouldn't expect we have a large enough sample size to really say anything about that with certainty.

Edit: The Norway thing being (for those interested):

> [The oil fund] was established in 1990 to invest the surplus revenues of the Norwegian petroleum sector. It has over US$1.3 trillion in assets, including 1.4% of global stocks and shares, making it the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. In May 2021, it was worth about $248,000 per Norwegian citizen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Pension_Fund_of_Nor...

Because oil was discovered in modern times when Norway was already a developed society with strong institutions and an educated populace.

In contrast, El Salvador right now is still fighting barbarism and anarchy.

How did you reach that conclusion? Wouldn't this be a way to export power without the lines.

No, because Bitcoin doesn't turn back into energy. The energy is just gone.

Are you referring to the fact that their currency is USD which they don't control therefore can be pushed around by the USG?

"To prevent colonizing foreign investors from controlling your country, you just have to run your country how I, an educated wealthy westerner, think you should."