[cyarvin]

It's not a question of law but simply one of power. The USG is sovereign and not subject to any controlling legal authority. And its power, especially in financial matters, is global.

Therefore it can be analyzed as if it were a criminal actor. Does the USG have motive, propensity and opportunity to murder Bitcoin? Sadly, the answers are yes, yes and yes.

Motive and propensity - obvious. Opportunity - USG can't shut down Bitcoin trading, but it can smash the BTC price by destroying the exchangers. If it misses one, everyone who owns BTC and sees it as an investment will rush for that exit. Once it is closed, the price is zero by definition.

In retrospect, BTC will look like a very foolish bubble. In fact it is perfectly sound from an economic perspective, but not from a political perspective - it assumes a basically fair, just and sensible global legal order. Or at least a multipolar one. Closing our eyes and believing these illusions exist is not an effective way to make them exist.

BTC is flourishing. It continues to flourish because DOJ hasn't finished its paperwork yet. If you have some - sell it while you can. A big lump of gold feels nice in the hand.