No. The permissionless, decentralised nature of the Bitcoin network, means that it can’t be stopped.
Not by you, not by me and certainly not by either of our governments.
The Bitcoin network is a globally decentralised network of interconnected computers and its current standing means that it’s by far the most powerful network on the planet.
Why do you think the question of Bitcoin’s energy consumption continues to come up?
It’s huge.
But with size comes security, so let’s go into a little more detail around why Bitcoin can’t be stopped by attackers and certainly not by governments.
Bitcoin can’t be stopped by attackers
Let’s first start by talking about how an attacker could try to stop the Bitcoin network.
The most common way for an attacker to take control of a weak blockchain network is to 51% attack it.
We see them occur on smaller, shittier blockchains such as Ethereum Classic (can you see which Ethereum is better now?), all the time.
But never on the Bitcoin network.
The sheer size and decentralised nature of its network, means that a 51% attack on Bitcoin is all but impossible.
Bitcoin can’t be 51% attacked because an attacker would require the computing power, known as hashing power, to replace that of literally millions of miners scattered throughout the world.
To build the infrastructure required to take over the network, it would cost literally billions of dollars and only then, the results would still only be a maybe.
The tech, let alone the economics of attacking the network by force, just don’t add up, hence the Bitcoin network has never been successfully 51% attacked even once in its history.
Bitcoin can’t be stopped by governments
While the Bitcoin network can’t be stopped by attacking it, what about governments flexing their power?
Nope, Bitcoin can’t be stopped by governments either.
You see, the Bitcoin network is decentralised in nature, making it immune from shutdown by any single government.
All governments can do at this point is to try and shut down the on/off ramps for fiat to BTC transactions, within their own jurisdiction.
But with so many global currencies, crypto altcoins and widespread access to free proxy servers, trying to stop the Bitcoin on/off ramps is as futile as stopping the network itself.
Not to mention the risks of one government being left behind from a technological point of view when compared to their rival.
Do you really think that China wouldn’t want to gain the upper hand in tech if the US government tried to ban Bitcoin?
Or the other way around?
For a simple comparison here, look at the difference between North and South American economies and which encouraged innovation and tech during the industrial revolution.
Bitcoin is the single greatest technological advancement since the industrial revolution and when push comes to shove, no first world government is going to want to miss out.
For more reading on the technology, head on over to our Bitcoin guide.
Best of probabilities to you.
Direct from the desk of Dane Williams.
This blog is exclusive to leofinance.io
Why not leave a comment and share your thoughts on whether Bitcoin can be stopped in the comments section below? All comments that add something to the discussion will be upvoted.
This Bitcoin blog is exclusive to leofinance.io.
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You covered everything. As I like to say, this dip is just a sale. :)
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So does that mean you're buying the Bitcoin dip?
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Maybe. I am waiting a little bit longer.
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I don't really think a 51% attack will happen since there are a decent amount of BTC that are lost forever due to lost keys.
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Not sure if this is related to a potential 51% attack, but it's certainly related to price.
Add in Satoshi's wallets and 'lost Bitcoin' is certainly a huge chunk of the 21 million total supply gone forever.
The thing is, nobody truly knows...
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This is so encouraging. They tried to ban cryptocurrency in Nigeria and a lot of people sold out of panic. I wish they had knowledge. I hope hive gets to this point where 51% of the coin cannot be owned by 1 individual.
Great post
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Nigeria is an advantage of a single government trying to ban Bitcoin.
But how is that going for them?
In reality, is the policy working?
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Bitcoin doesn't have a CEO. No single entity owns the network!
What would governments do? They can't do shit about it now!
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Bitcoin: Open and permissionless.
Exactly as it should be :)
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I don't see the 51% attack on bitcoin being an issue any time soon. However take a look at bitcoin cash mining numbers in comparison and it wouldn't take much to hit these other networks and lock them down/destroy them on a 51% hack. With prices dropping I'm going to imagine some mining rates have as well putting them at even more risk now. Bitcoin itself though freakin STRONG! Not only as a mining network but battle tested the longest. If it ain't broke don't fix it :)
Bitcoin Cash is an embarrassment and Roger Ver is a straight up scammer.
There's no point in even talking about it.
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well that is true. All that guy does is try and sue people to give his fake crypto value. I retract my statement replace that with another popular POW coin instead.