Well, I guess it's 'game over' for that idea then.
The governments of this planet haven't been able to successfully fight Bitcoin itself, but they've definitely managed to combat the establishment of a circular economy based on it.
Taxes.
On both sides, for consumers and providers. Instead of spouting off dumb, tiring slogans about Bitcoin, we should have focused on making the practical side—like how to handle Bitcoin spending and income from a tax perspective—well-known to the public. But we didn't. Instead, we just kept patting each other on the back for being such great nerds who understand Bitcoin. In theory. Failed.
There aren't even enough usable tools for it, like a simple Bitcoin cash book with fiat tax management. But there are millions of Lightning wallets that only offer a crappy CSV export at best. And they can't even get that right.
@npub1zv7...82ke , I'm talking to you. How come your CSV exports in my tax tool end up showing a -1 sat balance (instead of zero)? I've gone through all the entries manually a thousand times and reached out to you. No response. And that's just stacking. Total fail. Other exchanges also. Crappy CSV exports. Hours wasted.
The glorious Bitcoin community couldn't counter this trick from the governments and just kept burping about "self-custody."
By the way, shameless self-plug, I also offer Bitcoin consultancy services for businesses in my area. The practical side, not the theoretical side. Hardly any business gives a damn about it.
Have you all ever tried to set up a real international small business based on Bitcoin? If not, then just be quiet—you can't really talk about it.
You can't rely on the much-praised anonymization measures either; businesses need to be transparently accounted for. All it takes is one customer on the other side mentioning a Bitcoin purchase from you in their tax return, and you're in trouble. It might be 8-10 years later, but eventually, you'll be in the hot seat.
Just sit down, stack and hodl. And pray that they don't come up with even more crap, like taxes on unrealized gains. Because then you can also forget about hodling.