This is a burning question that arises in newbie investors' minds when they see news like China will ban crypto, or another country will shut down mining. Is it really possible to ban crypto from any country?
The answer is no!
Because it's not like some apps like TikTok or games like PubG that you put some regulations and restrictions.
Cryptocurrencies are based on blockchain technology. You can't ban technology from growing. For that, you have to ban people from using the internet, which is impossible. Well, you can do that if you are a dictator government like North Korea!
So many stories are coming up from China that they are shutting down mining Bitcoin and trading crypto in their country. They are going after derivatives and are trying to restrict trading on major platforms. A lot of stuff is happening right now.
They are really trying to crack down on miners that are using coal in particular. China is also trying to crack down on mining in Sichuan province, where mining is primarily done by hydroelectricity. Chinese miners are already in conversation with different electricity providers overseas. They are looking to move out to countries like Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran, the United States, etc. Anywhere where they can have a more favorable environment for mining cryptocurrencies.
Ironically, all of these places or countries that I mentioned all have pro-Bitcoin mining regulations. Kazakhstan is very friendly to crypto and all about crypto mining. Russia is a bit back and forth about it. Iran is restricting Bitcoin mining for the summer, so they are trying to regulate all the Bitcoin miners. They just don't want to see blackouts happening in their country. It's logical as Iran doesn't have an efficient power grid.
The United States has been doing a lot in Bitcoin mining, so the U.S. is the home for the miners.
Large bitcoin mining companies are looking at moving to North America and Central Asia after taking advantage of cheap electricity in China. - Source
If China doesn't want the miners, other countries are going to take them. Miners will just take their machines, pick their shop and move somewhere else; this has always been the case. We've seen it happening in a variety of crackdowns in the past, where they move from one place to another.
But here's the truth! These all are old news. Yeah, trust me, all of this news is just worthless. And it only tends to give the regular people some hard time with crypto. That's it! None of this stuff is new!
China's been doing this since 2013, when the "China banning Crypto" thing came out for the first time. They did it again in 2017-2020. Now they are trying to ban Bitcoin again in 2021!
There's no point in this ban as China was never able to ban crypto properly. Moreover, we all know that the crypto market saw more potential growth after 2013! And we got more traders, miners, and exchanges from China. They can't even stop people from getting cash into the market. Because you know what happens if they try? OTC desks!
These are over the counter desk that is popping up all over the places. They have actually been in these places for years, as China is banning Bitcoin for years! So basically, you can just go to a back alley dealer and buy some Bitcoin. The black market finds a way; people always finds a way. There's always a way to get money into the market.
So, in spite of all of China's attempts, which is a robust authoritarian country with these surveillance things, they've not been able to stop people from buying and trading cryptocurrencies. None of their bans, crackdowns, or restrictions have actually stopped anything! It may be slowed things down and gave some hard time to traders and miners, but they will never restrict crypto.
The next time someone tells you that a country is banning Bitcoin, don't believe them. Because that's not happening! No country can ban crypto, and every attempt to ban it failed miserably.
Even if a government tries to ban BTC, it will be ineffective. You could remember when the U.S. government banned alcohol under Prohibition, in that time, liquor was more available. And here comes Bitcoin, which is based on technology and even has no physical entity. So, I don't have any idea how a government can try to seize it!
Nigeria recently tried to crack down on trading and mining, and now the Nigerian central bank changed its mind. But people are saying at the back that they had no other choice except to allow crypto in their country because they know that banning technology isn't possible.
Ask your Chinese friends; they are even using banned Facebook using VPNs. What the government can do, can give regular people a hard time by imposing various restrictions, raising the tax, providing anti-money laundering requirements. Still, all of these can't really stop anything. It will just slow down the growth. That's it!