China bans Bitcoin, then unbans, then bans. Then Argentina, Russia, Bolivia and New York do the same. At first the Bitcoin market reacted wildly, now not so much. Bitcoin is the economic battlefield of this century. Sovereigns are finding that simple denial won't make the blockchain go away. They want to do what governments do, and that is to regulate. Bitcoin says otherwise.
Sure governments can slow down adoption by banning its public use, but they are finding that more progressive nations are using that as an opportunity to gain advantage in the technology. Then comes the escalation. Oppressive regimes begin a series of doublespeak where they welcome Bitcoin, but attempt to undermine its development through propaganda. They allow banks to set government policy thinking it is in the best interest of the nation. None of them realize that Bitcoin was developed for people, not institutions.
The war will continue to escalate. More bans and more regulations will break the news, but meanwhile governments will be accumulating bitcoins because they know how the endgame is played. They know their power is threatened by Bitcoin and will tear each other apart over how to take that power. They will also tear themselves apart with internal power struggles.
This is just silly. The war analogy may appeal to the legacy financial system and Tsun Tsu fans, but Bitcoin is beyond the reach of those anachronistic social phenomena. Math is for everyone. It's not a weapon to be manipulated by bullies. This is the opportunity to develop decentralized lending and commerce. It's also the time to develop tools that can be used by the lowliest and poorest amongst us. The endgame is that Bitcoin is power. Let's make sure that power is decentralized and accessible to all.
