You can ban it, you can ban mining, you can ban and control the on- and off-ramps. People might still use it, but less, and it'll be harder to sell it as a legitimate investment opportunity.
If people want it, it'll be unstoppable. Just look at drugs and sex trafficking. Specifically with sex trafficking the on-ramp is literally kidnapping humans and as far as I'm aware that industry isn't shrinking (granted I know very little about it, so I hope I'm wrong).
Banning it just ensures that law-abiding citizens can't use it for good while you solidify the market belongs to criminals. Who knows what the outcome for that will be, but if the war on drugs is any indicator, I'm not optimistic that would end up as a net positive for society.
Except the only use it has for "law abiding citizens" is specilation.
While banning cryptocurrencies won't eliminate it, it would make it much less attractive for fraud, extortion and money laundering.
The war on drugs turned otherwise law abiding citizens into criminals. A ban on crypto wouldn't have the same effect nor would it have the effect of driving a behavior that should be treated as a mental health issue underground.
I am not sure a ban is the best solution, I am open to alternatives.
Banning it just ensures that law-abiding citizens can't use it for good while you solidify the market belongs to criminals. Who knows what the outcome for that will be, but if the war on drugs is any indicator, I'm not optimistic that would end up as a net positive for society.