Most governments look at the crypto industry with suspicion, often blaming it for money laundering, scams, and other criminal activities. The accusations are based mostly on the fact that cryptos are unable to control. The banks or authorities have no means to trace or freeze them, as they would do with the suspect’s or criminal’s standard bank accounts. That also means that it’s very easy to use cryptos for suspicious or unlawful activities.
On the other hand, digital coins have great potential, and investors like them because they are able to execute transactions between buyers and sellers without third parties (i.e., banks or other financial institutions).
Still, crypto owners or traders have to endure strict restrictions in many countries. Some governments outright forbid crypto trading. While the U.S. stands somewhere between in that equation, the industry members want the country to embrace digital coins.
The cryptocurrency business began pleading its case by trying to convince the Biden administration that it does much more than financing criminal enterprises.
Kristin Smith, a leading trade association in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry and executive director of the Blockchain Association, noted that the group is attempting to show cryptos’ many advantages to Biden administration as potential new regulation looms on the horizon.
How do the crypto owners plan to achieve that goal?
The group has already begun discussions with staffers in the Treasury Department. They are also trying to schedule meetings with Secretary Janet Yellen and Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo.
According to Smith, their first priority is helping Yellen understand that digital coins go beyond the financing of criminal enterprises. They also want her to understand the value of cryptocurrency networks.
Bitcoin and other cryptos enable owners to make transactions outside the normal banking system, using a decentralized network known as the blockchain. The cryptos are impossible to counterfeit. Besides, blockchain allows transactions to be completed seamlessly, without the costly checks and whole processing, which the traditional banking system demands.
Over the past few months, some major companies became more actively interested in cryptos. For instance, tech giant Tesla invested in Bitcoin and announced that it plans to accept cryptos as payment.
As a result, Bitcoin has rallied by more than 480% over the past year, reaching and even surpassing the new record high of $50,000.
However, along with approval, cryptos have faced lots of criticism. Many policymakers and analysts argue about its usefulness for the public. Unlike the U.S. dollar, Bitcoin isn’t backed by the federal government, and criminals often use blockchain for illicit activities.
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