I am empathetic to your point, and the constant state of 'surveillance' of my monetary actions is something that I always take issue with. On the other hand, I

I am empathetic to your point, and the constant state of 'surveillance' of my monetary actions is something that I always take issue with. On the other hand, I don't think these are compelling points: 1. If we were using cryptocurrencies as real currencies, bet your bottom dollar that your local government will have a way to control the use of it. A government is defined by its ability to use (possibly deadly) force to achieve its goals; if your local government legislates (or dictator dictates) that bitcoin is tantamount to money laundering, how useful is your BTC in a jail cell? 2. The same could have happened if they confiscated his laptop with his wallet info on it. What the police did was horrible and not justified; I am only claiming that btc would not have helped any more than a savings account. In fact, the savings account is insured! 3. Instead they invest in a cryptocurrency that is subject to the incompetence of people who do not have a single thought about the plight of the Venezuelans. Bitcoin does not permanently solve any issue that is created by malevolent governance. It is the same issue with saying that people can circumvent laws by using VPCs; it might be working for now, and it might work in the future, but it mostly depends on the ignorance/incompetence of government to regulate or enforce. If your government feels helpless in enforcing laws, it will resort to physical force. https://xkcd.com/538/ https://xkcd.com/538/