con·tra·band /ˈkäntrəˌband/ — goods that have been imported or exported illegally; trade that is prohibited by law.

Throughout history, contraband hasn't just meant illegal goods. It's meant valuable goods that someone in power decided you shouldn't have access to. Spices. Books. Ideas. Information. Currency.

The ₿ isn't an accident. Bitcoin represents something that was supposed to be impossible: value that moves without permission. An expression of what contraband has always been.