[leereeves]

In the event of a serious economic crisis, the government would probably confiscate Bitcoin, like FDR confiscated gold during the Great Depression.

(I know they can't actually confiscate Bitcoin that isn't in an exchange, but they can make transacting in Bitcoin illegal after a certain date.)

[smt88]

Exactly right. As long as BTC needs to ramp off into fiat for most spending purposes, it can be banned.

Importantly, it can also be banned if centralized exchanges are powerful enough and do what the government says.