Following scenario: A government would like to destroy Bitcoin. It buys a significant number of ASICs to build up a huge mining farm and carries out a 51% attack.
From my point of view it will not be so easy to buy so many ASICs as once - what do you think?
Another question: Will it be noticed (how?) that somebody buys a big stack of ASICs and/or are we able to identify such a behavior monitoring the network's hashrate?
You are confused at the difference between a Government Power verses a rich person Power.
You outlined how a rich person would attack bitcoin, by buying what they needed to make a 51% attack.
A government would go about it differently.
1. Just Outlaw it and imprison anyone for 20 years that used Bitcoin.
2. Seize / Confiscate any ASICs warehouse in your or cooperating counties, and use them for an 51% attack.
3. Threaten the top 4 mining pool operators with jail or worse, if they fail to comply with your Government desire for a 51% attack.
4. Tax the miners to make it an unprofitable venture, so the miners close down.
5 Full Scale war, physically destroy all ASIC warehouses with explosives and imprison any bitcoin supporters.
6. Start a worldwide Propaganda campaign how bitcoin is funding terrorism and depleting earth's natural resources,
So bitcoin never gains true adoption, and people refuse to use it , because they consider it disgusting.
This would also correlate with the release of a Government Backed/Controled digital payment system
which would be promoted and accepted as fiat in that country.
* While governments may never go that far, be aware, they have access to resources that mean they never have to buy 1 asic to destroy bitcoin. *Good points, some of them, but very very far from practical in a realistic scenario. The cat is out of the bag, and how would you imprison people who pass around mere 1s and 0s?
You also seem to like to see Bitcoiners to be imprisoned. Hahaha.