US Congressman: Bitcoin an ‘Unstoppable Force’

For those early adopters of Bitcoin the promise of crypto was the freedom to take control of their own finances without the interference of government basically making central banks and governments irrelevant. But until now, the threat of crypto was largely ignored by governments mainly because crypto never sufficiently materialized enough to threaten nation-states. That changed with the launch of Facebook’s Libra. The project has caused alarm bells to ring in Washington, where the congress is rushing to find regulation to tame or curb crypto. 

Fuss about LIbra

Recently Facebook’s project Libra has caused an uproar in Washington. Politicians feel threatened by Libra as it can affect the dollar’s dominance of the global financial system. The talk about Libra has gotten so big that President Donald Trump tweeted on 12 July that, “If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations.” This has resulted in the reversal of the price surge witnessed earlier in the Bitcoin market. 

Unexpected comments 

A not so popular figure in the crypto industry, U.S. Congressman Patrick McHenry, has made headlines recently for the comments he made on July 17 during the Libra Hearing at the US House of Representatives. The Congressman is a republican from North Carolina who is a ranking member of the financial services committee.“The world that Satoshi Nakamoto, author of the Bitcoin whitepaper envisioned, and others are building, is an unstoppable force”. This comment has put the congressman in spotlight as it is contrary to the popular view in the hill. Later, he also added, “We should not attempt to deter this innovation; governments cannot stop this innovation, and those that have tried have already failed”. In an interview given to CNBC later, the Congressmen was quoted, ”there is a knee jerk reaction, to kill an idea before it grows”. That basically sums up what has been going on in the hill(although he mentions during the interview that there needs to be a genuine hearing on the nature of project). Later in the interview he elaborated on his comment of why government cannot shut down Bitcoin, ”China with its great firewall and extreme intervention in their society cannot stop it. ” 

Crypto currency is getting attention all over the world while most of the governments around the world are looking at this through a positive angle. Some, especially those who are financially benefiting from the current system, like the US and other developed countries are reluctant to give up their inherent influence. But as the congressmen have pointed out, innovation cannot be stopped, and ultimately the system with the greatest merit will triumph. 
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