A fictional exploration.
Ideas Feed Bitcoin
While going about my day today, I got a few ideas on Bitcoin. I love Bitcoin.
It has yet a few emergent miracles to unleash on the global economic stage.
Well, I was preoccupied with the idea of Geo-Locked Bitcoin or Geographically constrained bitcoins.
What is that?
Just an idea for Bitcoin plebs to use code and hardware to trap bitcoins within the boundaries of national borders…
Imagine if the US government bought 1 million BTC for $60 billion and geo-locked them within US borders for 100 years!
Even I would become an illegal alien.
Why do that?? Isn’t that a bad idea?!
Indeed, like you, every Bitcoiner who read my OP on StackerNews.com here gave me pushback.
I guess ya’ll fear anybody messing up Bitcoin, don’t you?
This is only a read. No harmful code will be written to send the BTC into a further downhill spin, messing with your NGU or HODL mood.
Geo-locking Bitcoin is not yet even a thing that can be done.
Now that your fears are assuaged, let’s break some rules.
Bitcoin is not respected much today by nation-states because any Tom and Jerry can get ahold of it like it was some common good.
Unlike gold, whose supply chains have been relegated to big politics for the most part.
But what if some bitcoins were more valuable than others?
What if some BTC was a priceless national treasure…
Put Nationalist Nodes at the Border
To make national treasure stay put, we must first ensure it goes nowhere. Unless all parties involved agree to change their minds.
So if Bitcoin sats want to escape the country, that should be curtailed by a bunch of autonomous GPS nodes powered by AI, strategically put along the US border, and armed with sky-high antennas.
Call the border patrol.
The roles of these will be twofold:
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Keep the 1 million bitcoins or 100 trillion sats locked in tight.
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Predate on the BTC of people trying to climb into the country illegally.
Ok. I’m kidding myself, aren’t I?
Think of it as a likely simulation of how a hyperbitcoinized world would behave.
With only 21 million, sorry, 17 million bitcoins to go around (4 million are lost forever), you bet countries will want to HODL their stash like a vice.
Even Germany. It’s paper-handed days so behind them.
Certainly, few people would care to use ‘toxic’ USA BTC that much, right?
Meh.
Let them go use Solana or something.
Bitcoin is for the Hardcore crypto bros.
And for those immigrants who put in the work (will involve proof-of-hodling Bitcoin for 5 years straight), if they get that Visa, time to show us what they can do to make Bitcoin great again. Else: Deportation.
Tell the Russians and Chinese
The thing about being cool is you have to let the competition know so that they up their ante, and give you a worthy challenge.
Now, unlike national secrets or gold, stealing bitcoins secured by a geo-locked, time-locked, multi-sig wallet is futile. One might have better luck stealing a nuke.
Not that the Russians and Chinese have few of these.
The point is, the only way they will get some of those USA BTC is if the Americans sell to them. Force will not work here.
To use some terms in Maj. Jason Lowery’s SOFTWAR, the Americans will be ‘projecting immense power in cyberspace’ which the competition will reckon with, will admire, and will try to reciprocate with sweet deals.
Say, why sell nationally hodled BTC when you can sell derivative assets of them?
And dollars backed by the full might of the US government plus 1 million super-hodled BTC are dollars I could trust to be rock solid stable.
No hyperinflationary winds shall threaten these. No sorry.
Of course, the Fed as we know it will be ended. It will evolve into a manufacturing giant for minting BTC nodes for every American.
The US Supreme Court will introduce a BTC justice department for successfully trying 99% of all cases of BTC fraud (which will be a breeze as the timechain never lies). The 1% failures will be cases of forgotten seed phrases. Those are impossible.
Otherwise, where there is a seed, there is a way.
Everybody Gets Some Geo-Locked Bitcoins
Geopolitics today seems to attempt to interact when there is little to say.
With geo-locked bitcoins on the table, there will be a lot more to say. Way more.
‘Why did you lock them?’
‘It is the new National Treasure. Gold is old news.’
‘Ok, give the gold to us’
‘OK, pound for BTC pound’
‘Sonofabitch’
‘I demand some respect please. Lock your own BTC if you wish’
‘Say, isn’t every politician in the USA now broke? Now that real work has to be done by everybody?
***
It will be nice if, for a change, every country is minding its own geo-locked BTC while comparing it to the freely floating BTC on the world markets. Not minding other people’s fiat currencies.
Interestingly, while global/international BTC values could fall, local BTC values could soar!
Google search of BTC/USD value would have two values. The local and the international.
As they should. The idea that international arbitrage is a must-do, even when it is unpalatable, is a fallacy. It’s like saying if my neighbor is starving from poor economic choices, I too should starve.
Bull.
What Would Happen to Altcoins?
AH, they would thrive, that’s what.
Especially then when most BTC are locked up in countries, away from international markets, it would be party time for altcoins.
Like the grumpy parents had gone on vacation.
Pepe and his band of merry memes would get high af.
While it lasts.