View: Why cryptocurrencies must cut deals with states to survive SECTIONS Last Updated: Jun 06, 2021, 08:21 AM IST Share Synopsis If Bitcoin and its ilk are to survive an era when their downsides are becoming ever more apparent — from carbon emissions to ransomware attacks — they will need to find a way to betray their libertarian roots and cut their own deals with the state. iStock By David Fickling On Feb. 18, 1522, a secondhand clothing merchant named Geronimo Bambarara in the crowded Rialto district of Venice came up with a new way of clearing out stock. Instead of selling his goods directly for money, he decided to enter customers in a draw. In exchange for a 1 lira ticket, they might win more than 1,000 times that amount in cash or take home prizes of carpets, cloth of gold, fabric, amber or animals. The promotion was a success. Within a week, the numbers chancing their odds resembled the crowds at the Ascension Day religious festival, according to one contemporary diarist: “At present, in this Rialto district, nothing is done except put money on the lottery.”