As Americans head to the polls this fall, their decision on who will lead the country will also determine the fate of cryptocurrency here in the United States, with our security, prosperity, and freedoms at stake.
This week, I will be joining President Trump and thousands of crypto market participants in Nashville for Bitcoin 2024, the world’s largest Bitcoin conference. This year’s conference will be held in my hometown, which is clearly a turning point for the future of crypto technology in the United States. This fall, the future of crypto in the United States will be put to the vote, determining who will lead our nation’s executive and legislative branches. The difference between the Democratic and Republican approaches to crypto is stark. The Biden administration has repeatedly demonstrated its hostility toward crypto by taking enforcement actions against companies for violating non-existent rules while refusing to provide a basic regulatory framework for the industry. This combination of legal uncertainty and strict enforcement has left many crypto innovators in a bind, leaving them with no choice but to relocate their operations overseas.
Meanwhile, Democrats are also taking extreme measures to thwart the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the traditional financial system. Biden regulators are forcing banks involved in cryptocurrencies like Signature Bank into bankruptcy, while imposing crypto-hostile policies like the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121, making it prohibitively expensive for financial institutions to hold their clients’ crypto assets. Overall, the Biden administration’s track record is a clear indication of what will happen with another four years of Democratic political control: further political persecution of the industry on a scale reminiscent of Obama’s Operation Choke Point.
In contrast, Republicans have taken concrete steps to develop constructive crypto policy that exemplifies the party’s longstanding commitment to the principles of innovation, free enterprise, and individual freedom. House Republicans passed promising legislation that would provide legislative clarity on crypto market structure and U.S. dollar-denominated private stablecoins. Republicans in both chambers have worked together to reverse Biden’s most egregious policies, address concerns about illicit funds, promote private sector innovation in stablecoins, and prevent the development of central bank digital currencies. If Republicans control Congress and the White House, they can expand and implement these efforts, finally achieving constructive rules for crypto and putting an end to Biden’s oppressive executive regulatory regime.
If Republicans do not thwart Democrats’ attempts to crush cryptocurrencies in the United States, the consequences could be dire. Another four years of hostility will drive even more crypto innovators abroad. Leading U.S. exchanges have already begun to operate in other countries, obtain licenses in foreign jurisdictions, and close their U.S. operations. In recent years, Washington lawmakers have realized that allowing another important industry, semiconductors, to move abroad has weakened U.S. competitiveness and geopolitical influence. It would be foolish to allow cryptocurrencies, the new cutting-edge technology of this generation, to follow the same path as samCryptoe. Republicans understand that keeping innovation at home is essential to U.S. international competitiveness and to creating wealth and jobs for Americans.
Too often, voters frustrated by Washington dysfunction end up feeling like their vote, and national politics more broadly, don’t matter. But that’s not the case here. No matter how frustrated you feel about the status quo, the truth is that an election is our best opportunity to change course and get our country’s policies back on track. In the case of cryptocurrency, our vote at the ballot box this year could literally decide its fate. This November, Americans must make their voices heard and send their elected representatives to Washington with a mission to secure the future of cryptocurrency in America.
This is a guest post by Senator Bill Hagerty. The opinions expressed here are entirely Mr. Hagerty’s own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
