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Topic: Could new cryptocurrency be used to subvert entire governments? (Read 468 times)

sr. member
Activity: 378
Merit: 250
Knowledge could but approximate existence.
A ruthless dictator will survive, even if his opponent had most of the gold reserves on the earth.
Meddling happens even today. Sanctions by the EU/US can make life miserable for most governments. This is a gentle push to get them back on track, without spilling any blood.

However, in light of the second portion of your post, would the former "ruthless dictator" (botany) so remain a "dictator" (botany) or be dispossessed of the station as it was dispossessed of "most of the gold reserves on the earth" (botany) (perhaps, via "anctions by the EU/US" [botany])?
legendary
Activity: 1582
Merit: 1064
A ruthless dictator will survive, even if his opponent had most of the gold reserves on the earth.
Meddling happens even today. Sanctions by the EU/US can make life miserable for most governments. This is a gentle push to get them back on track, without spilling any blood.
sr. member
Activity: 378
Merit: 250
Knowledge could but approximate existence.
Quote from: Plato, _Euthyphro_, 380 BCE
Soc. We shall know better, my good friend, in a little while. The point which I should first wish to understand is whether the [capital] or [money] is beloved by the [1‱] because it is [money], or [money] because it is beloved of the [1‱].
(Germaneness mine.)
hero member
Activity: 770
Merit: 504
Let's say we belong to Guardia and are maligned with a nation known as Runefaust.  


  
Runefaust has a government that we, the Guardians, would ideally like to see overthrown.  It's current goals and positions are opposed to our own, but they are not worth the international upheaval that would happen if we used armed intervention to remove their current rulers.  As well, we fear that if we simply remove the current leaders through non-traditional means (such as assassination) this will create a power vacuum that could cause an even less desirable ruler to emerge.  
  
Now, what if we could be confident that we were about to grow one of the predominant financial networks on Earth?  This would be a cryptographic currency network like Bitcoin or Monero.  In this case, international meddling just got a lot more *elegant*.  
  
Now we don't need to intervene at all in Runefaust's affairs.  After all, money is literally influence.  Money is power.  No dictator could possibly stand in the way of an opposed idealist who owned 1/100th of all the gold on Earth.  All we have to do (as Guardia) is make sure that we select the right foreign "targets", convince them to own & hodl a sizable percentage of our future network, and then ensure their vision stays aligned with our own.  
  
If a single cryptocurrency (or select few) truly becomes a global standard of wealth, then the next bourgeoisie will be the majority holders of that ledger.  The future leaders and influences of most major nations will be forged in the early days of said network as it balloons.  
  

 
  
Just a thought experiment: All influence is money, and all money is influence.  To destroy a rival, all you need to is remove their influence.  Because money and its network effect is of a fluid nature based upon the sum of human progress/potential (you can't destroy it as it moves between humans; it can only change forms) then the ideal time to redefine maligned governments would be right as the global standard for money is about to shift.  
  
Hypothetical Conclusion: With foresight and/or accurate predictions about which cryptocurrency will become a global standard, it may be possible for a government to severely disrupt a rival government by simple social engineering.
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