Unpopular Opinion - The Biden Administration could be good for Bitcoin and Crypto

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Who says the Biden Administration is going to be bad for Bitcoin and Crypto?

Everyone and their dog seems to be thinking that the Biden administration is going to be bad for bitcoin and crypto.

And for good reason, democrats are notorious for more (and tighter) regulation compared with their republican counterparts.

Plus, you know, we had this statement from Janet Yellen, the new Treasury Secretary, which didn't really help things:

"Cryptocurrencies are a particular concern. I think many are used - at least in a transaction sense - mainly for illicit financing. And I think we really need to examine ways in which we can curtail their use and make sure that money laundering doesn't occur through those channels."

(Source: https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/bitcoin-price-cryptocurrency-should-be-curtailed-terrorism-concerns-yellen-2021-1-1029985692)

Cryptcurrencies and terrorist financiing in the same sentnce from the Treasury Secretary?! Yikes!

Sell it all and move to bonds!

So, why am I saying that the Biden administration might actually be good for crypto?

For one, I think when looking at Yellen's statements, it's important to notice what she didn't say.

She didn't say anything about banning bitcoin or crypto, she didn't say anything about squashing the industry.

She merely said that some crypto is used to finance illicit activities and we need to explore ways we can continue to limit its use for those kinds of activities.

Not ideal, but it really doesn't sound all that bad when you think about it.

So, we get some more regulation and also more clarity on things. There is an argument to be made that more clarity on regulations could actually be good for crypto.

The last 4 years we have gotten only slightly more clarity on many things crypto, some clarity on it would likely open it up for even more investment, which would be a net positive.

Secondly, I think many aren't paying enough attention to the appointment of the new SEC Chairman...

This guy:

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(Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-administration-could-be-friendly-to-crypto-133101753.html)

This is Gary Gensler.

He's a former Goldman Sachs guy who just so happens to have been teaching blockchain and bitcoin related courses at MIT the last few years, yea he's a huge get for crypto.

Given that he's going to be the new lead dog at the SEC, it's very likely that we get much more thoughtful crypto regulation, not to mention the fact he has been in favor of safe harbor periods for crypto projects etc.

Long story short, he's probably the best we could hope for in his position, well outside of crypto-mom, though she has a very good relationship with Gensler and already is said to have his ear on a number of crypto related issues.

But wait there's more...

Another major story that many aren't paying attention to right now is the fact that the extremely controversial FinCEN self hosted wallet proposal has been put on ice...

Not only did we get a great hire in Gensler at the SEC, but Biden has already halted all the last minute executive orders and proposals put through by the Trump administration, and that includes the last minute proposal by Steve Mnuchin and FinCEN to KYC self hosted wallets etc.

The proposal is said to be put on ice until the incoming administration has ample time to review:

https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/biden-freezes-new-regulatory-proposals-including-proposed-crypto-rule-2021-1-1029989717

While this doesn't mean it still won't eventually get through, it does mean that it will at least be looked at by another set of eyes which will hopefully be a little more thoughtful set of eyes.

So, while Yellen didn't sound extremely friendly and there are still going to be issues surrounding environmental concerns with bitcoin mining etc, the SEC is likely to play a major role in regulation going forward and they are likely to be a lot more supportive and accommodating towards crypto than they had been under Jay Clayton.

While there is no guarantee that this administration is going to be kinder towards bitcoin and crypto on the whole, I am cautiously optimistic that they may be a lot friendly than most people think.

Fingers crossed!

Stay informed my friends.

-Doc

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15 comments
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Same as cash...

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Yea cash is used for all sorts of illicit activities, and there is no paper trail there. At least with bitcoin they can see where the money is going. From that context they should be encouraging criminals to use ti!

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They just want their slice is all it is... Its money that they can't get their hands on. Its eating them alive to know if everyone used it for everything... THey'd lose their shit.

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Policing it would be impossible if all the sudden everyone used bitcoin for everything. Sure they could still have sales tax etc, but that's about it...

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These regulators are hilarious.

We need to stop terrorist financing!

How will you accomplish this, mighty regulatory body?

... ... ... How about more regulations on centralized exchanges?

Laughable.

They literally can't do anything. That's the whole point of crypto... you can't stop the transactions from going through. All they can do is regulate the centralized banking system, which has been their default playbook for decades upon decades.

The absolute worst thing they could do is ban traditional banks from sending money to crypto banks... which is clearly isn't going to happen because institutions are already heavily invested in the market and it would piss too many people off.

Their "brilliant ideas" to oversee the space include KYC on "self-hosted" wallets... an impossible task that accomplishes nothing once the money leaves the KYC wallets. They clearly have no idea what to do, because there is nothing they can do except pretend like they have it under control.

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The plan is to heavily police the fiat to crypto and crypto to fiat gateways. Once everyone stars using crypto for everything, there won't be much they can do at all.

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Great analysis!

The main reason Fraudulent Biden's coupsters will be good for crypto is because their dystopian policies will be the nail in the coffin of the current financial system and US Dollar reserve status.

The more they and their Big Tech buddies try to restrict information, speech, financial privacy and freedom etc, the more and more people move to alternative solutions over which they have no control.

The US has been facing severe civilisational collapse for a while now and with the loss of consent of the governed and Biden's economically destructive and socially divisive policies, this will only accelerate.

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We will see. It remains to be seen exactly how much money printing will actually go on with the branches so closely divided. The other things you mentioned should help though.

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Interesting theme. Really, I would like to believe in the efficience of this president, and less words.

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I agree with your sentiment. This administration is a mixed bag just like the previous one. Gensler is a definitely a plus.

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(Edited)

That may be a huge difference to us with hive and altcoins. The fact that he is a fan of a 3 year safe harbor for crypto startup projects is hugely positive for the industry. That means they give projects 3 years to get setup and no longer be classified as a security, if they were initially.

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I think Janet must have had a lunch date with some of the folks from Grayscale or something like that because if you check out what she said in the afternoon, it was much more crypto friendly. I saw a story last night where she said that she definitely sees the benefits of BTC in terms of speed and ease of transactions. I think if she can just be reminded or convinced that cash is just as subject to unscrupulous endeavors she might fall on the right side of this.

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Yep, I saw that as well. Like everything in crypto it was taken somewhat out of context and then sensationalized. She clearly is not trying to ban bitcoin or crypto, she's just going to try and look at ways they can better prevent terrorist financing etc with i.

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Yeah, I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. It seems like it is just the easy target right now. I mean how do you scrutinize something as iconic as the American dollar...

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