IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (meaning: My warped, personal opinions and musings.)
From the Author
Salutations.
I am JaiChai.
And if I haven't had the pleasure to make your acquaintance, I'm delighted to meet you now.
Vietnam: A Good Example
Telling the average, young Vietnamese citizen to stop using cryptocurrency and stick to the Vietnamese dong (the nation's fiat) is like telling them that eating bread is forbidden and that all law-abiding Vietnamese shall only eat rice.
Both edicts are ludicrous and could never be totally enforced on the streets in real life.
On my last visit to Vietnam, my U.S. dollars were much more welcome at vendors than the Vietnamese dong. So, the acceptance of alternate currencies is by no means a foreign concept.
And the young people I associated with are simply gaga over Bitcoin and all things cryptocurrency.
Suffice it to say, however awkward they may appear, the Bitcoin Fanboys from years ago got nothin' on these Vietnamese young adults! Seriously, it resembles a cult following; an underground religion complete with hallowed priests and arcane rituals.
Continuing onward with my original food analogy...
Because of Vietnam's past French influence bread is still considered "classier" - possessing a measure of prestige appeal because it can cost way more than "the common man's rice".
Doing a "Prohibition" style crusade against the consumption of bread will surely yield the same result as the original attempt to criminalize alcohol consumption.
In a word. Failure.
So what's all this got to do with governmental acceptance or banning of Bitcoin?
Simple.
No matter which stance is chosen, it's a potential win/win for the government.
Think of it.
Because of Bitcoin's decentralized nature it will be very costly to police Bitcoin users. Pandora's box has been opened and now it's impossible to "un-Bitcoin" the world.
Suppressing its growth and punishing known supporters will cost more governmental resources that many of the poorer countries can not afford.
Besides, any semi-successful attempts at suppression will only move it underground.
The best ploy for any poor government is to use the Bitcoin issue as a means towards political gain. Yes, a government could catch the odd, token careless Bitcoin user, reap a little fine and show their strength by incarcerating the offender.
But the real value of exploiting the Bitcoin controversy is crafting the nation's image to enhance future negotiations and alliances with other nations.
Again, think of it.
Japan, Korea and many other Asian nations are receptive to Bitcoin, while other nations are outwardly anti-Bitcoin and covertly mining the crap out of Bitcoin.
China flip-flops whenever it suits them, while Russia says "Nyet!" to Bitcoin, use our CryptoRuble!
Iran will always play the "Bad Boy" spoiler - at least until the U.S. publicly apologizes for its economical hanky-panky and political manipulation of Iran in the past and does a token show of restoration efforts.
Yeah, right. Like that's gon'na happen in our lifetime. Or maybe if another Halliburton-in-sheep's-clothing sees a great opportunity to make a buck?
Iran has steadily gone behind the U.S.' back for their country's resources; effectively neutering any trade sanctions and accelerating the devaluation of U.S. fiat.
Nowadays, Iran can easily trade with other, favorable nations for everything they need or desire, but is currently unavailable within country (including atomic grade plutonium).
Consequently, embracing Bitcoin should not be a surprise to anyone. The policy is fully aligned with their trademarked antagonistic posture and ongoing Anti-American campaign.
Hell, they're probably doing the happy dance as we speak!
As a side note, I predict a lot of the wealth from future Bitcoin play will probably be set aside for the next energy war. And it won't be over oil. It will be over the Solar kilowatt. But that's for another rant...
So, do you see that the current scenario is a win/win for Iran?
They not only jump on the Bitcoin train earlier than other major players upon the world stage, they get to thumb their noses at the U.S.
Bottom Line?
Cryptocurrency is here to stay and governments know it.
And whatever stance individual governments take is not based on lofty ideologies or technological phobias.
The position a nation takes on the Bitcoin issue is based solely on the presence (or absence) of sufficient economic resources to technologically compete.
Follow the money and you'll see how any nation will squeeze as much social currency from the Bitcoin controversy; hence, revealing the political posture they've decided to be in their best interests.
By JaiChai
About the Author
He is a retired U.S. Military veteran. Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic. In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he freefall parachuted out of airplanes and performed diving ops in very deep, open ocean water.
He spends his days on an island paradise with his teenage daughter, longtime girlfriend and three dogs.
