This isn't a new thought but it is one I had this morning. It seems like we have two stories that could be connected happening now. One is the US ETF story. Many are excited about NGU and I think that is likely. The huge downside of the ETF is you have no control over it, you are completely trusting the custodian and the state to not rug you. Not good. The second story is the more direct fight on self custody. It is obvious that bitcoin's enemies in government are trying to pretend that they are not criminals and we are.

Here's the thought. Bitcoin's actual value is its utility. The ability to not be censored. To not have to trust third parties. To be able to move value across time and space. If you only interact with bitcoin through a trusted third party. If custody and use of bitcoin is criminalized all you have left is the approved custodians... Why would some token in your 401k have value? It wouldn't. Its a scam.

SO, what happens to the utility of bitcoin? Its still there, but why buy it if you aren't going to use it? Bitcoin isn't magic. Its not valuable because some jerk on Twitter says it is or some boomer that has billions says it is. It has value because it solves problems. Most in crypto have no clue about utility. They only see $$$$. They wanna be rich.

So, this whole ETF plus criminalization could be a decent attack on bitcoin's market price. I actually wonder though if I'm giving the clowns in DC to much credit. Are they smart and capable enough to coordinate an attack like this? I have a hard time believing this.

Finally, if I didn't understand how bitcoin works and the game theories others have described I'd be worried. I'm not though. The US is not all powerful and if they do try to hurt bitcoin other nations have an incentive to embrace it. It will be VERY hard to stop bitcoin if not impossible. One thing is for sure though. Things are gonna change in the next year or two. What do you think and how are you prepping for it?