Bitcoin and Governments: Friends or Foes in the Revolution?

Bitcoin was born as a tool to break the state's monopoly on money, an open-source code designed so anyone, without permission or intermediaries, can be their own bank. It’s the antithesis of government control, energy dissidence embodied in bits and electricity.

So, what happens if those same governments trying to control it decide to adopt Bitcoin? In theory, it seems like a win: a more transparent system, less susceptible to inflation and manipulation. But in practice, that adoption can be a trap disguised as progress.

Risks of Governments Adopting and Hoarding Bitcoin

Concentration of power in a network designed to be decentralized
Bitcoin’s strength comes from no one having absolute control. If governments start accumulating large reserves, they could use that power to influence the network, coordinate attacks, or manipulate markets. Centralizing control is exactly what Bitcoin was created to prevent.
Legitimizing a state system under a new disguise
By adopting Bitcoin, governments could turn it into just another tool in their control arsenal. They might impose heavy regulations, mass surveillance, or use CBDCs based on blockchain tech to tighten financial control over citizens—camouflaging oppression with the label “advanced technology.”
Neutralizing dissent and resistance
Bitcoin was designed so anyone with a computer can have financial autonomy. If governments appropriate Bitcoin, they could restrict access, censor nodes, or criminalize private ownership—turning what was a freedom tool into a new mechanism of control.
Diluting the original philosophy
Bitcoin’s open-source and anti-system spirit could be lost if state institutions monopolize it, shifting the focus from ordinary users and libertarian activism to just another regulated financial instrument.

So, What Do We Do?

It’s not about rejecting all government adoption, but staying vigilant and protecting decentralization. Bitcoin’s real power lies with its users—the nodes keeping the network alive no matter where they are. Resistance is in continuing to promote individual sovereignty, financial education, and open technology.

Advocating for governments to adopt Bitcoin is risky if we forget Bitcoin was created to fight against them. The revolution isn’t in the state embracing the system, but in people taking it for themselves, using it as a tool to rebuild freedom from the bottom up.