According to cyber security expert and Bitcoin investor, John McAfee, the only thing that Bitcoin investors have to fear is government attempts to restrict them. He claims that governments will try to stop cryptocurrencies as they have self-involved fear of it challenging their authority.
He also acknowledges that although governments are afraid of it and are trying to restrict it, they know that they cannot stop it. It is already well known around the world and many people view it as the only way for us to truly escape the clutches of the state.
It is by the very design of these cryptocurrencies that they cannot be regulated and controlled. They were developed as the world faced the global financial crisis and people had a feeling of distrust in the global financial system.
Lack of Central Control
Part of the reason that governments are so concerned about it is because they cannot control it. This lack of control means that the government cannot tax you on the movement of your money. They also cannot see what you are earning and hence find it difficult to tax your income tax. According to McAfee
Our income taxes are the greatest source of revenue, but if everybody’s using Bitcoin, the government doesn’t know what your income is. They can’t tax it, and if you choose to say I didn’t have anything, they cannot prove otherwise
McAfee also said that the digital currency will frighten every nation state and they will look for solutions. This will be in vein as the nature of the protocol cannot be regulated by a central authority. However, this does not mean that McAfee doesn't see the need for self-regulation.
He admits that there have been a number of questionable businesses raising money in the cryptocurrency space, particularly ICOs. He has even been bold enough to label some of them as scams. He said that
China is right about one thing, the ICOs, there are lots of scams, lots of people who are fraudulently taking money from other people, so that’s got to stop. But I don’t think governments can stop it. We as users and the Bitcoin community have to be self-regulated”
He was referring to moves by the Chinese government to restrict ICOs in the country. Indeed, Bitcoin is still a relatively new technology, there are going to be growing pains for it. Hence, some sort of self-regulation will be welcomed especially for those people who are new to the technology.
He went on with an alaysis of the comments by Jamie Dimon for JP Morgan. This was in response to Jamie Dimon's comments about Bitcoin being a “fraud”. He finds it funny how the CEO of America's largest bank acts like a “madman” and makes such sweeping statements. Of course, he notes that this is exactly something he would say. John McAfee concluded by saying that Bitcoin was our way to take control of our finances away from the banks.
Featured Image via Wikimedia
