Why Governments Can Never Stop Crypto

Many people argue that cryptocurrencies will never be accepted as a valid form of money because governments can just pass laws to outlaw them.

“Remember China, China, China!” goes their mantra.

Trouble is, these crypto skeptics ignore the actual, on-the-ground consequences of such “bans” and how easily they can backfire.

Let’s take a quick round-the-world tour, and I’ll show you exactly what I mean. And yes, we can start in Beijing.

Back in 2017, the Chinese authorities didn’t pussyfoot around. They went straight for the jugular  — the cryptocurrency exchanges.

That made sense, or so they thought. Exchanges are formal companies that need to be compliant with the regulatory framework of the countries where they operate.

But here’s the big all-important factoid that Beijing seems to have missed: For a population to adopt cryptocurrencies, they don’t need exchanges.

Are exchanges convenient? Yes.

A dire necessity? No.

In fact, as…