Thank you for writing this. I have written for a long time that Bitcoin (et al.) never was and never would be a currency. To the extent it functions this way now, it is no different than the dollar or euro: since almost all legal “business” done in Bitcoin is speculation (some erroneously refer to it as “investment”) and all this is through exchanges, this is about as “centralized” as you can get.

The reason I never got around to writing about the fact that Bitcoin never was or will be a “currency” is because it was so obvious. No one can buy eggs or a tank of gas or a house with it. Except for the case where both sides are cultists. Instead, what I have chosen to write about is the dangers that are increasingly attached to it. The original big danger was the belief it had anything to do with solving any economic problems, such as inflation or MMT or all the other sweat-outbreaks among the looney libertarians.

Increasingly, I have been writing about its real and growing danger: the centralization of control of crypto in Chinese miners and IC manufacturers: 66% of BTC is mined/re-mined by China, the rest in Mongolia and Russia. In addition, the manufacture of mining rigs is close to 100% Chinese and the ASICS used in them.

There is no more centralized control of a store of value on earth. If enough wealth from the western individual investors, corporate treasuries, and investment banks and funds flows into crypto, China would have an enormous lever against the west. This could be use against any sanctions or other financial mechanisms to insure its fair behavior. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for China, but there is no getting away from the fact that it is run by a form of government that is inimical to liberal democracy and human rights.