In a thought-provoking exchange on X, Matteo Pellegrini, founder of the Orange Pill app, has sparked a significant debate among Bitcoin experts and enthusiasts. Pellegrini shared insights from a recent conversation with an undisclosed source, revealing a potential strategy by the US Government to exert control over Bitcoin through a spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF).According to Pellegrini’s theory, Bitcoin held in the ETF and other US government-approved custodians would be labeled as “white Bitcoin,” while all others would be considered “black Bitcoin.” This distinction could lead to a significant valuation difference, with “white BTC” potentially trading at $1 million compared to “black BTC” at $100,000. The government could then gradually convert “black Bitcoin” into “white,” acquiring a dominant share of the cryptocurrency while preventing arbitrage.Pellegrini expressed his concern about this scenario and sought insights from the crypto community to prevent the government from owning a majority of BTC. Samson Mow, founder of JAN3, responded with the idea of “Hawking radiation” as a possible factor. Mow suggested that BTC might bifurcate into “Institutional BTC” and “Free BTC,” with coins in ETFs potentially facing restrictions when re-entering the free market. He compared an ETF to a black hole, gradually losing its mass over time due to fees, similar to Hawking radiation.Bob Burnett, founder of Barefoot Mining, emphasized the importance of independent block template creators and node support to maintain BTC’s freedom. He stated that as long as there are several independent block template creators and support from the nodes, Bitcoin will remain free. Another user named Dario highlighted that BTC network rules are determined by node consensus, implying that ownership percentage does not directly influence network rules.Petri Järvinen challenged Pellegrini’s concern, questioning the likelihood of Bitcoin being controlled by an ETF holding more value than self-custody coins. Pellegrini responded by suggesting that institutions and those seeking compliance with US government regulations might be compelled to invest only in white BTC. Järvinen doubted the feasibility of such segregation and suggested that controlled Bitcoin might be sold at a discount.In closing, Pellegrini remained optimistic, echoing Jeff Booth’s sentiment that BTC’s survival depends on its continued decentralization and permissionless nature. He emphasized the importance of Bitcoin staying decentralized and permissionless for its long-term survival.At press time, BTC traded at $37,078.

This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)

Information	Details
Geography	Global
Countries
Sentiment	neutral
Relevance Score	1
People	Dario, Samson Mow, Bob Burnett, Matteo Pellegrini, Petri Järvinen
Companies	JAN3, US Government, Orange Pill app, Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), Barefoot Mining
Currencies	Bitcoin
Securities	None