> One is a tool to curb freedom and make the job of government as easy as possible, the other is designed to enhance freedom, restrict government control over its citizens and be an escape hatch whenever governments become unbearably controlling.
The flaw there is that if too many people use something like Bitcoin as an escape hatch from an unbearably controlling government, that government can close the escape hatch by becoming evenmore controlling.
You can't actually do anything physical with Bitcoin. For all your physical needs you have to trade your Bitcoin with someone for the physical goods, either directly or indirectly.
An unbearably controlling government could focus its monitoring on the physical goods, and make it illegal to buy physical goods using anything other than the official government currency. They could require all banking to be done at a government bank or at banks that report everything to the government.
If I live in my country I need my physical goods to be my country with me. If my country becomes unbearably controlling they can restrict imports so that I can only buy and import foreign goods if I can prove I paid for them in my country's official country earned in the official economy.
The existence of other countries does give me the option of emigrating from my country if there is a less controlling country that will allow me in.
The flaw there is that if too many people use something like Bitcoin as an escape hatch from an unbearably controlling government, that government can close the escape hatch by becoming even more controlling.
You can't actually do anything physical with Bitcoin. For all your physical needs you have to trade your Bitcoin with someone for the physical goods, either directly or indirectly.
An unbearably controlling government could focus its monitoring on the physical goods, and make it illegal to buy physical goods using anything other than the official government currency. They could require all banking to be done at a government bank or at banks that report everything to the government.