Can Governments Restrict Crypto Use?
by Marvin Dumont
They can, but tech-savvy users can circumvent centralized control with creativity and fearless action.
Governments and central banks, though not all, have been banning or restricting the use of cryptocurrencies. That’s not surprising since digital coins can be a (good) substitute for sovereign fiats.
Earlier this year, China’s ban of cryptos sent shockwaves across the industry given that the nation of 1.4 billion has the second largest economy in the world. As a result, valuations temporarily plummeted. Beijing doesn’t want competing currencies to threaten the yuan’s stability, even as nearly 70% of Bitcoin (BTC) mining is concentrated within the nation’s borders.
But restrictions has led to Chinese investors to circumvent the ban and other capital controls by traveling to Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and other nearby countries so they can buy Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Hong Kong is booming with crypto activities — that’s Chinese capital inflows.
In Latin America, Venezuela has banned crypto mining equipment as the Maduro government is keen to promote the petro. It’s the national crypto designed to replace the now-worthless bolivar. However, Venezuelans don’t trust the socialist regime that has destroyed the local economy through hyperinflation. Instead, they’re adopting mainstream cryptos (such as Bitcoin Cash and Dash) to preserve their purchasing power.
India, Iran and other countries are restricting the use of cryptos — to limited effect.
That’s because many distributed, trustless monies are designed as peer-to-peer, which means parties can directly transact with each other without ever needing a middleman. And their decentralized mining nodes operate globally, which means it’d be difficult for local officials to unplug an entire network.
Apollo Foundation is going a step further by developing an unregulatable and untraceable cryptocurrency so you can pay, trade and invest with ease. Apollo (APL) will be an all-in-one cryptocurrency that will give users the ability to perform any blockchain-related task offered by mainstream cryptos. We are designing Apollo so that it can fill the needs of all other cryptocurrencies.
We’re also setting up Decentralized Apollo Banks in major cities. (See Mass Adoption Plan.) They’ll serve as a way to access Apollo with cash.
These Apollo-affiliated locations will enable people to exchange fiat for Apollo. APL has 0% inflation. Holding APL also gives users the ability to use blockchain-powered money and to take advantage of extremely robust privacy features. According to Coinatmradar.com, there are now close to 4,000 crypto automated teller machines (ATMs) worldwide. This retail infrastructure is key to increasing mass adoption.
It’ll be tough for governments and central banks to completely restrict the type of digital money that tech-forward people want.
