IMO the primary strategy engaged by the legacy fiat powers- ir governments and bankers, to capture and control Bitcoin is very clear to anyone with open eyes. In the west it is not an outright ban- that would simply force it underground and out of control. No- the strategy is the classic one for any cartel/monopoly faced with a new asymmetric competitor- capture and control. How has this been orchestrated- in open sight? Simple- 1- bring trading into regulated centralised CEXes- not any CEX but a few carefully selected CEXes who are and will remain close to the banks who very selectively grant them banking service. 2- Impose KYC ownership tracking and tracing- gain control of ownership data. 3- Gain custody of a significant part of the entire market capital - via CEX custody and any other institutional form of custody- ie ETFs and even Microstrategy. 4- Subtly but effectively obstruct use of Bitcoin as a p2p payments protocol- designate Bitcoin as a commodity that will be taxed upon every transaction- making it quasi impractical to use legally as a MoE.

All of this has been achieved- the perception and use of Bitcoin as a speculative commodity, not a P2P payments protocol has been successfully achieved. At the same time the amount of Bitcoin that is not now KYCed is probably a relatively small ratio of the total. A growing ratio is held under the custody of institutional holders ETFs, CEXes and Microstrategy.

This all prepares the ground very nicely for a ban on private custody. With most Bitcoin already held by institutions who can still hold post ban and most privately held individual Bitcoin already identified a ban which might include an offer to acquire at market price could mop up most of the rest of the Bitcoin held in private hands.

Even if this final killer step of a ban on private Bitcoin custody is not taken Bitcoins use and perception has been substantially shifted away from that of a P2P Payment protocol to a much less threatening speculative commodity- a taxed and tracked and traced one.

Buying into ETFs and other institutional custody models is to be part of this process that undermines the original purpose of the protocol...and makes it easier for the legacy fiat power brokers to maintain their monopoly hold upon monetary payments channels.