White House Bizarrely Calls Crypto a ‘Threat’ to Ordinary Americans
We’re not sure the White House is reading the room. We have the highest inflation in about 40 years, gas prices are through the roof as a result of poor political decisions, and what is by every definition an economic recession. Yet the White House say that crypto is a threat to the financial stability for “everyday Americans.”
This isn’t a partisan attack. This can be laid at the feet of both parties. Middle class wages haven’t risen in almost 50 years. Economic sanctions on foreign nations which end up only hurting American citizens go back decades and were supported by both Republicans and Democrats.
And yet here we are.
President Joe Biden’s administration expressed concern over recent developments in cryptocurrency markets and their impact on average Americans’ financial health as it introduced a series of reports Friday outlining policy recommendations for regulating digital assets.
Recent turmoil in crypto markets “highlight how, without proper oversight, cryptocurrencies risk harming everyday Americans’ financial stability and our national security,” Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at Thursday evening press conference.
The Biden administration “believes that now, more than ever, prudent regulation of cryptocurrencies is needed if digital assets are going to play the role we believe they can in fostering innovation and supporting our economic and technological competitiveness,” he added.
The comments accompany several reports issued by the Treasury Department and other agencies Friday morning , as was mandated by an executive order issued by Biden in March.
The reports cover topics ranging from consumer protection and financial stability to the national security implications of cryptocurrencies, and they put forward a series of recommendations that will guide Biden-administration policy on digital assets going forward.
One report recommends that financial regulators and law enforcement should “pursue vigilant monitoring of the crypto-asset sector” and “aggressively pursue investigations … with particular focus on consumer, investor and market protection.”
These statements appear to back up the increasingly aggressive stance that Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has taken on the digital-asset industry.
In a speech last week, Gensler argued that the vast majority of crypto projects in the U.S. are currently operating in violation of federal securities law, and present a threat to the financial health of average investors by not adhering to disclosure rules.
We disagree with the White House. DeFi and crypto are the solution to so many problems the government creates in the economy. It can free ordinary Americans financially, getting them off the drug of state-enforced traditional banking and finance that eats away at their prosperity and privacy.