"What are the actual threats to Bitcoin?"
The fact that it requires other peoples' wires/radio frequencies to transmit data is the worst actual threat to BTC, because collusion amongst the majority of those providers would utterly disrupt the ability of BTC data to be shared. Collusion between seemingly disparate institutions, such as fact checkers and banks, has demonstrably occurred, and governments in the West have been vicious participants in such collusion, such as when Canada debanked people that donated to honking truckers. Such collusion is clearly not impractical or theoretical, but actual and ongoing, and the fact it went right for the financial accounts of it's victims shows that BTC is not an unlikely target for such malice.
BTC cannot have any security from the legacy financial system it seeks to replace while dependent on the assets of that legacy financial system for it's use, which it is. Nothing more difficult than refusing to transmit BTC data needs to happen to cripple the mechanism. There needs to be no legislation, no government announcements, or public declarations. No one has to give a reason for doing it. Those wires and radio frequencies are private property, and the owners can do with them what they want, or at least legally can do what they have agreed with licensing agencies they can do, and I am unaware of any requirement to transmit BTC hashes, transactions, or data of any kind whatsoever.
As I understand the situation, BTC and all cryptos exist at the leave of the owners of the network infrastructure they depend on.
Thanks!
Is it even possible to recognize Bitcoin data transmission on packet level? Because while it is certainly possible (at least physically) to deny service to known large miners, it doesn't actually stop Bitcoin from working. You'd need to cut out specific packets on backbone network (global control) and/or firewall for specific region (local control). If Bitcoin transmission cannot be differentiated from other traffic, then I don't know how else anyone would be able to actually "cripple the mechanism".
You clearly know better than I. I am not a coder, so I have a layman's grasp - at best - of details. I am confident that anything overtly relevant to BTC could be flagged by AI. AI is a sorting device. That's what it does. Certain data structures and information are relevant to BTC, which makes it identifiable.
However, there's the data that has been collected and stored regarding all communication for the last decade or so, which will include BTC transactions and use, that will be used to target specific users when the time comes. Just preventing known BTC transactors from using the series of pipes information flows through would cripple the monetary mechanism, I think. Actually picking out specific packets to censor would be a lot easier once the bulk of known BTC users were silenced, and probably add those sending them to the list of those incommunicado.
Since I have never used BTC, I have no such trail or handle alerting AI to my potential use of BTC, and I'd likely have an easier time getting through any BTC firewall for that reason. However, I'm unlikely to be allowed on any network during such lockdown due to my other history of speech anyway. BTC mules, little old ladies that only ever posted cat videos, or something, might become necessary to BTC should known BTC users be targeted by AI to shut down BTC traffic, if such could even be covertly employed for the purpose.
I dread the approaching day when encrypted data will be censored. I reckon that's coming whether BTC remains viable or not. Censorship always comes with war.
I recently searched for launch providers to ascertain the feasibility of creating privately owned satellite networks, but am a long ways from getting further than that. While I'm not confident a privately owned satellite network is enough to prevent censorship, I am confident it will (or something equivalent) be necessary to a robust free speech solution that is enough. Given the dramatic drop in costs of satellites and launches I expect less than $100M would be necessary to create a minimum viable product (enabling private speech between N. America, Europe, and Asia), if such could be defended in a freedom hostile environment. Since I haven't even begun to actually get real prices and costs for things, or considered maintenance and defense at all, that number comes right out of nowhere.
I don't think anything less could maintain BTC and free speech, and I don't think such investment will be possible once CBDCs are mandatory.
Thanks!
I actually don't know. While content of any encrypted communication should look like high entropy twisted mess no different than the other, not being able to see what is inside the content does not yet mean it is not possible to recognize type of content based on metadata of the packet itself used for routing and such. People are very crafty about such things and now with AI it might be even more possible. But like I said, I have no idea.
It is already being attempted to end encryption for ordinary people. It is facile to censor all encrypted communications not from approved entities. As to unencrypted communications, that is what I am quite confident you can describe and detail far better than can I.
You obviously forget that Bitcoin is not limited to one country, like the US, and Canada, and there are many countries, smaller or bigger, that are pro-bitcoin.
No, I don't neglect that at all. Patreon, gofundme, banks, can all be transnational institutions and effect policies that transcend borders and polities. The NWO is a global conquest, a takeover of the world, not of any single polity. They will impose policies globally.
El Salvador, Liberland, and some few others may try to buck the trend, but they will be contending with transnational corporations, and will be inadequate to the task.
Thanks!