In the recent past, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have become more common. There are millions of people and institutions using Bitcoin for transactions.
As the most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin alone has over 109 million users. The growing popularity of Bitcoin is its nature.
What Is Bitcoin?
There is a high chance that you have heard about Bitcoin already. But do you understand it and how it works? Bitcoin is a virtual or digital currency. As such, you can use Bitcoin to transact.
Specifically, you can buy and sell Bitcoin through cryptocurrency exchanges. There are also many mobile apps and software such as the bitcoin revolution for trading Bitcoin. Bitcoin operates like fiat currency.
You can buy and pay for goods and services with Bitcoin. However, unlike fiat currency, Bitcoin does not exist in any physical form. You cannot keep or withdraw Bitcoin from your typical bank.
You will need a Bitcoin wallet to transact Bitcoin. You are the only person who can access this Bitcoin wallet. Bitcoin is decentralized, meaning no single entity or government controls it.
Through the central bank, the government controls fiat currency by determining the number of banknotes or coins in circulation. And this is not the case with Bitcoin. It operates based on a highly encrypted platform.
Can The Government Seize Your Bitcoin?
Recently, there has been a growing trend whereby governments are trying to regulate Bitcoin. The government can introduce specific laws to monitor Bitcoin transactions.
For instance, in the US, the IRS can issue subpoenas to cryptocurrency exchanges forcing them to reveal user activities. However, that is as much as the government can do.
Bitcoin technology is highly secure. Its security features make it virtually impossible for any government to seize Bitcoin. To use Bitcoin, you will need a highly secure Bitcoin wallet.
Bitcoin wallets will not identify details like your name, physical address, or phone number. Since everything remains hidden, the government can’t trace the elements of your Bitcoin wallet.
Bitcoin only exists virtually. This virtual nature provides some additional security from government interference. Since you cannot store, withdraw, or print Bitcoin, the government cannot seize it.
It is easy for the government to take fiat currency because of its physical nature. For example, the government can hold the money in your bank account.
It is more difficult for the government to seize your Bitcoin because there is no intermediary in its operations. No government entity like the IRS or the central bank can intervene in Bitcoin transactions.
Some Exceptions
While the government cannot seize Bitcoin, there are certain exemptions.
If the government can find out a user’s real identity behind a suspicious Bitcoin account, it can coerce the individual to give out the private keys to the Bitcoin wallet.
Giving out your private keys can allow the government to access your Bitcoin wallet to know the amount of Bitcoin you have.
In February, the government, through the Department of Justice (DOJ), seized more than 94,000 Bitcoin from a couple’s account.
The government suspected Bitcoin was part of an enormous hoard of cryptocurrency hackers stole after orchestrating a cyber-attack on Bitfinex in 2016.
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Conclusion: Can the Government Seize Your Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is seizure-resistant by its virtual and decentralized nature. Although the government can coerce a user to reveal private keys to a Bitcoin wallet, this is very rare and difficult.
The anonymity and privacy that Bitcoin provides make it almost impossible for the government to seize your bitcoin.
