It is impossible not to draw parallels between Bitcoin and V for Vendetta, the infamous dystopian political thriller inspired by Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder plot of 1605. Starring Natalie Portman as Evey, the movie was seen by many as an allegory of oppression and the crusade against governmental tyranny.
In the movie a mysterious masked man who calls himself only 'V' sets out to overthrow the iron-fisted rule of high chancellor Adam Sutler whose propaganda machine spins the news and exploits people to maintain its fascist stranglehold on power. Likewise, Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, envisioned and spread a decentralized electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer with the power to free people from their dependence on fiscally-corrupt Central Banks and revolutionize financial systems.
Since Bitcoin's inception, most governments, institutions and financial personalities have tried to make Bitcoin a pariah of society using "money laundering, crimes, and tax evasion" to scare the general public. Meanwhile other more progressive countries and financial institutions like V for Vendetta's Eric Finch, head of New Scotland Yard and Minister of Investigations (the "Nose") see the good in crypto and have initiated plans to adopt Bitcoin and Blockchain-powered systems. Like the "Nose," whose faith in the status-quo was severely shaken, these institutions have recognized the trends and the overwhelming public frustration with extortionate intermediaries.
Undoubtedly, illegal trades, hackers, volatility, and ICO scams have all contributed to the case and spurred public support for regulating Bitcoin in developed countries. However, Bitcoin has proven of immense value in the context of international development and financial inclusion. In a world where any mobile phone can be provisioned with a crypto wallet the disenfranchised and unbanked suddenly have unfettered access to services like remittances, small-scale global commerce and investments. Crypto wallets, like DoWallet, provide an effective way to hold money, and a convenient way to use it in everyday transactions in an increasingly globalized economy.
In the movie, V insists, referring to Guy Fawkes' 1605 plot: "Four-hundred years later, an idea can still change the world." Indeed it can! However, when it comes to Bitcoin the most important question is "Will people use it?" if Bitcoin does not achieve success as a medium of exchange, it will have no practical utility and thus no intrinsic value and won't be appealing as a store of value.
In the end, it's either large scale adoption as a way to bring legitimacy, decreased speculative interest and reduced volatility or simply remembering Bitcoin through Evey's words when asked about V's identity: "He was all of us."
