A “friendly” government may seem beneficial for crypto, but it ultimately threatens decentralization. Just as the open internet was co-opted by corporations and regulators in the ’90s and ’00s, government-friendly crypto policies lead to surveillance and centralized control. While regulatory clarity invites mainstream adoption, it also empowers large players, marginalizing permissionless innovation. Crypto’s strength lies in its resistance to control—once governments integrate it into traditional finance, its revolutionary potential fades. A hostile government forces decentralization; a friendly one lulls us into compliance, repeating the internet’s fate.