The prime difference between now and then it that people and capital are infinitely more mobile.
If the same were to be attempted today they would be able to go straight to my door. They would also find it empty as I'd be in the nearest country that wasn't pulling crap like that.
The money would be flying out of the nation at an unprecedented rate. People would be smuggling gold so quickly as well it would be wild, boats would be leaving everywhere lined with the stuff heading to more economically friendly nations.
I hope.
Honestly if a nation pulls this shit again it would be intriguing to see what happens and how much they suffer Economically for their arrogance.
Umm. I don't think it is so simple pulling off a "gold smuggle on the boats" if a country decides to implement such a rule again. With a bit of advanced planning and utilizing the full force of the state, a nation can easily stop any such outward flows. The kind of people who would be willing to take such a risk will be a miniuscle percentage comprised of the biggest fish. (Pre-emptively, a govt would go after them first)
Saying that the govt cannot pull off such a stunt again with a physical asset like gold is grave underestimation of the reach of state.
Physical confiscation of bitcoin would be harder for the state to pull off. Yet, the threat that nullius keeps repeating is that bitcoin is in fact, the easiest to follow.
Why do I really care about Bitcoin privacy?
Bitcoin can instead be exploited to become a weapon for tyranny. The blockchain is a nearly-ideal system for financial mass-surveillance. Really, I do not understand why people dont grasp the obvious: The blockchain is a global public ledger, the worst possible concept for financial privacy!
For those who wish to convert Bitcoin into a tool for enforcing the iron grip of bankers, spies, and corrupt governments, the only spoiler is that Bitcoin is permissionless. We can thus build upon it technologies that prevent surveillance: Blinded mixers, Joinmarket, Lightning Network, etc.
If Chipmixer successfully reinvents itself as a Chaumian blind mixer, then I will heartily endorse it as one of the best things to ever happen to Bitcoin, and moreover thus, a tool for any remaining humans to resist reduction to meat-robots. For contra No HATEs values-inverting accusation that Chipmixer advertisers sell their souls, people who mix their coins on principle are the ones who still have souls.
Careless KYC's on exchanges and all sort of places will result in linking every one of ones transaction back to us. Maybe not so for the true cypherpunks but the late-comer wannabes like me would be caught dead to rights. All the more important that every bitcoiner learns to delink those ubiquitous transactions from their privately held stashes. And listen closely to what the true cypherpunks have to say.