@Ted > I don’t think the risks of autocratization are being overstated. I don't think they can reasonably be called risks. It's the people who *want* this, and they tend to find the rulers that will give it to them. And it's nothing new; even Hitler was democratically elected. Don't focus on the leaders when it's the followers who are the larger problem. @Humdee > Everyone needs to grasp that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not a bet on the future of America, they are a bet upon what will happen in the West when a democratic America is no more and the dollar cannot maintain its status as a reserve currency. Were that true, cryptocurrencies would move in opposition to the western economy. It does not appear to be doing that, so pick a new thesis. Try this one: the rise of digital assets are just a further sign of late-stage capitalism, because inequities have resulted in few people having any hope left for establishing real wealth. @Winter > White males feeling entitled to their dominant position and using violence to force it upon the rest of society. Yes, that's why no women have supported or voted for any of the recent crop of white male authoritarians... Anyone who still thinks the patriarchy is part of the problem is part of the problem. Same goes for racism. The real problem is that too few people are introspective enough to see what is awful in themselves, and thus fail to recognize it in the people around them. And so we can circle back to the actual topic at hand: the NSO Group. I see no reason why they *wouldn't* be surrounded by awful people. It doesn't even matter where the targets might be located. It's all about the mindset of who could possibly be their customer. 73a3fc7e324384e3d86263324a48536ce23ad52810b51d97a28ffd762e0bc65e