You know you’ve made it when Congress holds hearings.
What comes out of politicians’ mouths in a hearing rarely has anything to do with reality.
But cryptocurrency just went mainstream with a Washington, D.C. dog-and-pony show for the digital era.
Crypto, most notably Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies exploded in value over the last several years as the Federal Reserve and Congress pumped printed dollars all over the country, which has sent inflation and prices for everything skyrocketing.
Now, the government wants to control this particular dollar siphon to help control inflation.
And Swamp politicians held hearings recently focused on regulating cryptocurrency.
From The Wall Street Journal:
“Cryptocurrency industry executives appeared before Congress on Wednesday to argue that their technologies hold promise for the future, as lawmakers and regulators wrestle with how to bring the more than $2 trillion market under government oversight. The House Financial Services Committee, led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.), called the hearing in hopes of improving lawmakers’ understanding of crypto assets and how the sector fits into existing regulations…Ms. Waters raised concerns about the crypto industry’s lack of regulation. “Currently, cryptocurrency markets have no overarching or centralized regulatory framework, leaving investments in the digital-asset space vulnerable to fraud, manipulation and abuse…”
One of the purported benefits of cryptocurrency is the lack of government control.
The government cannot inflate and devalue cryptocurrencies the same way it can fiat the dollar.
And while some investors argue that crypto is a store of value, violent recent swings in the price of Bitcoin would suggest otherwise.
The Journal continued:
“Many policy makers worry that the rapid growth of the crypto market, which has more than quadrupled in value over the past year, poses a threat to financial stability. They say that the market is rife with fraud, that bitcoin mining wastes vast amounts of electricity and that criminals use cryptocurrencies to evade taxes and circumvent anti-money-laundering laws.”
Evading taxes is what the government is concerned about.
Uncle Sam wants his cut as always.
Sadly, what is becoming clearer and clearer is that Uncle Sam is already getting his cut through economy-wide inflation and when that cow has been milked and citizens’ demands to do something about it can no longer be ignored, it may not end well for cryptocurrencies.
In the meantime, there’s no skin off the governments’ backs if Bitcoin collapses or stays elevated unless they can succeed in attaching an upfront tax on cryptocurrencies.
Of course, doing so would also require the complete destruction of one of many cryptocurrencies biggest selling points – privacy.
Stay tuned to Unmuzzled News for any updates to this ongoing story.
