Bitcoin Forum

We have seen there are miscellaneous reactions about bitcoin among US senators. On one side Colorado Governor Jared Schutz Polis announced that "his state will begin accepting Bitcoin for tax payments starting this summer" on the other hand Senators Jim Risch, Bill Cassidy, and Bob Mendez look aggressive against any step towards bitcoin implementations.

Some said using bitcoin as payments instead of US dollars will demolish the sanction power of the USA towards other countries. Do they fear bitcoin for losing control over the world economy or do they know the adoption of bitcoin will diminish the unchallenged sovereignty of USD?

There are very different mindsets of people, all of them have their own individuality therefore one cannot really specify their reason of having such reaction but at the end of the day they can definately be more sensible. Right now most major countries are accepting bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, even making mining legal therefore, at the end I do think eventually they would vote to take a stand against bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. Even the US government does hold a fine contribution of Bitcoins, they have seized millions of dollars worth bitcoins which generally goes in auctions or stays with the government. Plus they are not planning to ban bitcoins anytime soon. Tax payments can be acceptable in any form of payment methods but what's so different with Bitcoins is, that it would make everything trackable. People would be able to see where their money goes and therefore it can be a great idea to ward off corruption.

Fear of the unknown or fear of losing money straight in their pockets.
I don't see why they are so against it while Bitcoin had been valued for years. People will buy it and it's still their money which is going to be used for that purchase. The other concern I see is why do they allow digital payments which are also prone to be corrupted just showing numbers with nothing to back it up and they cost fees that makes you think about just going straight in the payment center rather than use their services.

Because they're old and they are still stuck in 60s where they're still young and they still don't feel any ache in their joints and that they came from a generation that think that they're the best generation and that they believe that we've peaked and they don't like new technology as they deem it blasphemous to their beliefs. I think that's the only reason for why the US senators heavily oppose bitcoin, other than being lobbied by banks.

Either, or both. It just makes sense for them to try their best to maintain the strength of the USD — as having control over the money is definitely one effective way of controlling the people one way or another. Lose access to the money printer? Most definitely would end up with them having far less capital for military and such.

It is the matter of time. With time they may change their position for crypto. I also heard that they are starting their digital dollar which will be used for the country. It looks like they are now on the way to accept crypto they are on the way to plan that what to do. They will either accept bitcoin or they will create their own currency which will be static with the price of dollar.

Why did you limit yourself to senators, what about congressmens? It is quite logical to me that they all have something against Bitcoin, they represent the interests of banks and a system that is completely centralized - so I guess they will not cut the branch on which they sit.

I think the elite in the US as well as their political brothers around the world are more afraid of stablecoins than Bitcoin which has max supply. Not only does Bitcoin have a max supply, but it also uses POW which is the perfect way to make the whole thing legitimate and transparent, despite the lie that it consumes enormous amounts of energy. On the other hand, stablecoins are printed (digitally) with the promise of being backed with something, and we know that those who do this are repeatedly caught in the lie that their stablecoin is not backed with anything.

Back in 2019, US Congressman Brad Sherman said "Bitcoin is a small baby here" referring to the Libra project, so it is quite clear what they are more afraid of, despite the fact that some speak negatively about Bitcoin.

Do you actually have a link for this?
I've never heard of the US government ever storing bitcoins, all those that are confiscated go through auctions with the USMS.


Just a heads up, Gavin was born in 66 and Finney in 56  ;)

Anyhow, it would be weirder not to have anyone against it, then it would definitely mean something suspicious is happening.
Normally people can't agree to compete on everything, even if we talk about husband and wife  (incoming flying frying pan if somebody reads this)  ;D so it's pretty normal to have different opinions on the economy, currency, and everything else.

They simply don't understand bitcoin nor care to learn to understand it. Bitcoin goes against what they are used to and it's outside their comfort zone.  Andreas said it best, as to why people like this don't like bitcoin..
"I think many of the intellectually honest people eventually stop being critics, because they suddenly realize that the flaws they are identifying are temporary features, issues, and not inherent problems. There are very few inherent problems in a dynamically evolving design or ecosystem of different designs all competing, that cannot be resolved.  There are critics who criticize this technology primarily based on their world view.   It is politically inconsistent with their world view.  It’s not that they do not like the technology it’s that they do not like the implications of this technology and the primary criticism you get then is “this should not be” to which all I can answer is ..and yet it is.  “but we mustn’t”… and yet we did, “but you shouldn’t”.. but yet we did"- Andreas Antonopoulos.

Differences of opinion between each senator in the US on bitcoin have long been heard...

but from what I have noticed, those who are against bitcoin are the ones pros against the dollar, they love the dollar too much and don't want any other currency to interfere with the dollar's power. we don't need to worry too much about it because the pros and cons of bitcoin will always appear.

I think it's not that simple. These old senators may be technologically not that advanced but they are not dumb either. They know how fed increase the money supply from thin air and manipulate the economy by controlling USD. If bitcoin took the place of USD then they will lose control because anyone can protect the bitcoin network by running a full node. They just don't want to hand over the control of the economy to people.

Of course, if bitcoin will be widely accepted, it will reduce the influence of the dollar which is the most powerful currency in the world. Senators are representative of a country, their job is to support the state and its interest, so it's normal to see that they will hate something that would destroy their interest.

I think Bitcoin is something generally easier to accept if you live in a country with a fairly bad fiat currency, prone to significant inflation, and a pretty weak economy, desperate for new investments and jobs. The US is a proud nation and a #1 economy in the world. Many countries hold reserves in the USD and measure their own currencies against the USD. So with everything being alright without Bitcoin, Bitcoin introduces a potential risk. A change always means that something might go wrong and things might get worse. It's a risk worth taking when there's a high demand for a change, but it's not attractive when there is no strong feeling that a change is actually required.

If they will accept bitcoin and along with that they also digitalize their dollar then it will have a good impact on their economy and they will not face any harm fro that adoption but their dollar will also get a value in the crypto market.

Special interest groups and lobbyist from the credit card processing companies buy their votes. If not for lobbyist, their own incompetency can usually explain it away. They don't understand the technology behind it and see Bitcoin as a competitor to USD, therefore they believe it must be regulated through taxation. Not a large secret, Washington D.C. being pro-corporation and anti-consumer has always been the norm, you wouldn't expect Bitcoin to be any different surely.

US senators know exactly that bitcoin could create a massive adoption to its citizens because they have seen that US dollar isn't working at all in favor of the people, but its more being used by the government officials. And US dollar is highly affected with inflation so it only decreases the purchasing power of the people. So bitcoin becomes a threat to the government as it brings more transparency that the government doesn't want to. And maybe because they believe that bitcoin has created opportunities to scam investors, assist criminals that may worsen the climate crisis, that makes them do not want bitcoin at all.

But US senators are mostly against bitcoin so we cannot expect that they will accept bitcoin as a currency because if that happens, it will bring threat to their own official currency. And to think that the state constitution does not allow other currency other than its official currency to act as a medium of exchange, so maybe that's one of the reasons why most of the senators are very firm on their decision against bitcoin.

We can't expect them to easily like bitcoin because even if they have their own researchers, most of them still have no good grasp on what bitcoin really is. Do you think if they experience using btc as payment method to merchant or shop, they won't like bitcoin if the fees are low and the transaction is fast? We can't aim btc to replace USD because that's not gonna happen. But if they will accept btc as one of the payment methods, that would be great. So in my opinion, they just need to experience how btc works in order to change their stance towards btc.

I guess you are talking about this press release (https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/ranking/release/risch-menendez-cassidy-introduce-legislation-to-mitigate-risks-of-el-salvadors-adoption-of-bitcoin)?

As President Bukele answered: Ok, boomers... you have no jurisdiction in a sovereign and independent country. We are not your colony (...). Stop trying to control something you can't control.

https://www.criptonoticias.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/nayib-bukele.png

I think this will be the most efficient answer to their very aggressive behavior hence, they can't gain advantage of it if it is in the blockchain it's easy to detect where they have their money came from. Although, it's most likely not going to happen but if approved then it's useful too though they have already released their CBDC then I don't think they wanted Bitcoin to be part of their plan.

And yes, they can't stop people from buying it even if they ban Bitcoin from their country since it's not controlled by someone or any single entity.

I have said this a couple of times already, but i do not mind reiterating at all, i think the problem all stems from Bitcoin being decentralized, of course it is expected that a 'centralized' government will be indifferent to a decentralized network, i am afraid it is not just the U.S., but many other countries out there as well do not at all appreciate the idea of Bitcoin.

I mean, having many more people be their own banks is a worry for the government, they want to continue printing more more, causing inflation and launching CBDC's to deceive people that it actually works like Bitcoin. Having said that it does not really matter how many government officials are against Bitcoin, the thing is that sooner or later as inflation continues to rise, more people would understand the importance/benefit of financial freedom Bitcoin offers, and hence more adoption notwithstanding bans/regulations and sanctions from numerous governments.

I think it has something to do with financial freedom and control. With the transaction of BTCs involving anonymity, the government will lose control over its transactions especially on the fact of the nature/origin of the funds. I guess they really want to avoid any transactions that will compromise their country's security.

Overall, I do also feel that the positive effects of transacting BTCs outweigh the negative effects of it on the market. Its potential and opportunities is just too good to be slept on and to be ignored by the government- I just hope they find that sweet spot and compromise to at least implement it into their transactions.

Perhaps they have interest that are in opposition to the aims of bitcoin. For example they may be in the boards of banks or their lobbies that pay for the campaigns and supply them with information and means to win election may be linked to the banking or the traditional investment sector. There is not much more that I can think of, unless they have been victims of scams and now think everything in crypto is bad.

Old man prefer old methods so expect that this new technology on financing system will not be good to them since they cannot relate on it and maybe they always look at its downside. Maybe in next batch of US senator if they elect new generation one maybe we can see a open minded people dealing up with new economic changes. For now for sure we can see majority of them prefer fiat over anything else in the world.

I would guess that there are too many of them leveraged their investments against bitcoins success, that could be a big reason. Not that they would short it or anything like that but they just invested heavily on stocks and finance world and if bitcoin goes up then there would be less need for those companies and their stock value would go down which will make these senators lose money. Remember, senators do not work for the people, they work for their own greed, and whatever makes the more money will be the thing they will defend, it has always been like that.

We have seen plenty of senators who talk to public about being against X and then go back and buy X stocks and vote in favor of it. So, do not consider their stance as some altruist good thing to protect people, it is all about their own money.

This is very much true and it is not only limited to the senators of the US but everyone in the government sector round the world hates and want to disallow Bitcoin usage across the country.
If bitcoin becomes the mainstream currency then these people will not be able to manipulate the money and they will not be able to make free money due to the paper money free printing.

               Probably both. I wouldn't be surprised if even politicians that are on different or opposite political parties maks the same stand owards bitcoin and the entire crypto industry since they all want control not just in their own country but also on the other countries as well. The influence of the USD is vital not just for the country schemes but also for personal ones. Also, there maybe other politicians that only go against bitcoin due to not being able to understand it fully. Bottom line is that bitcoin will have a hard time becoming legal in the US. In fact, it may even be entirely impossible.

They should fear bitcoin and bitcoin power, not just the senators but all the political men who care about USD and their traditional currency are worried about bitcoin because bitcoin came to become borderless and global they all want to have their own currency (USD) to be more often used by in the world by all the people who use online shops and many in many other platforms while demanding bitcoin can be scary for them in this situation.

I believe that Bitcoin is a tool for obtaining money and influence of a separate force in the USA. The fact that some US senators are against BTC just confirms this. It is likely that there are already at least three forces in the United States, each of which wants to rule the country. On the one hand, these are bankers, who are one of the first and main forces in the United States, followed by patriotic industrialists, and, well, digital people. Bitcoin seems to be an instrument of one of these forces, which is why there is some competition about the acceptance and non-acceptance of BTC in the US. Of course, everything is possible not so, and everything is completely different, so this is just my version of what is happening.

The main reason is they couldn't control or even use their power over Bitcoin. Just like banks, they also see it as a threat. The government always wants to rule and control the economy and country's currency so Bitcoin as a decentralized currency could only hinder it. However, despite their fear of Bitcoin, lots of US citizens are still adopting it and using it as a currency which I believe could develop more in the future.

Just like someone pointed out, most of these guys that are senators are old people and they still believe in the old ways of doing things. For you to convince them is going to be really difficult because of how they were brought up and some of them find it difficult to understand the things of this era. So, it’s really quite difficult and they wouldn’t really get it.

But, there are still some of them who do understand it, and they are smart enough to catch up with the advancement in technology and all that. But the good thing is that Bitcoin will still keep circulating and the world will keep on accepting it, and when it gets to the extent where those who are opposing it are no longer able to oppose it, and they don’t stand a chance any longer, they would have no other option than to accept it.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/cynthia-lummis-pat-toomey-bitcoin-booster-senators-invested-in-crypto-2021-12

i don't know how many senators in the US because i don't really follow news about US but it's very clear, not all ^{(senators in the US)} are against Bitcoin, there is still hope for Bitcoin to be accepted there in the future.  let's stay optimistic about Bitcoin acceptance in US.

Uuhm :( you are right they would all have their own different reasons why they are afraid of accepting Bitcoin. It’s possible that some of them would be afraid that Bitcoin is going to replace the USD, so they are now fighting against it cause of what they believe would happen if they should give it a chance.
While for some of them is also possible that they don’t really have any good reason at all and they just simply think that Bitcoin is a scam, so they just don’t want it because they feel it is not right for it to be accepted.

For now, Bitcoin is still newcomer so it’s definitely going to take time for a lot of people to understand it and also it's going to take time for it to create a balance and be able to be accepted. So it’s just a matter of time.

You said senators, there are many senators in United States, they can not have the same opinion, some senators will favor this while some will not, I do not see this surprising for few people to against something out of many.

It is a very good reason, I do not know how it is connected but I know using USD will give some power to US and is a means of having more control. But this should be looked into and known if it is good or not before making any proceed. What I am most after is for a country to be friendly with bitcoin and US is bitcoin friendly.

Whatever new or alien in a country will definitely be not accepted in the first place especially if its going to ruin the reputation of their own official currency. That is on how they look bitcoin as they think it would bring threat and maybe replace their US currency.  But bitcoin does not compete with dollar. Its only here as a great asset or investment, and a good currency that will be a good alternative for US dollar. But those senators are seeing more negativity on bitcoin as it would help more scamming activities to be more possible with the use of bitcoin.

Definitely not all of them as some have accepted that bitcoin is a good option to be a good alternative for US dollar, but of course they cannot say it all because that would mean they will be against with what the government believes. I also think that some are already engaged in bitcoin investments and they only do it secretly knowing that majority of them are still against bitcoin. But i think there will still be positive changes in the latter part, as bitcoin is still working to make it more viable as an alternative to US dollar.

Every country would be really that minding off about their own main currency and it is really not surprising that each government would really be looking bad about bitcoins existence even though some of them would be

that considerate on adopting but doesnt mean that they would be allowing it to move freely or something that they wouldnt tend to spot or observe on.So its better not to make yourself get surprised

because these would really be a typical kind of reaction or actions against on something which couldnt be controlled.

The US dollar is the world reserve financial instrument and yes they fear bitcoin.  It's fair though, most people fear what they don't understand.  With all the dumb stories about it being a criminally used instrument they dont trust it.  And if they don't have any and the people that do become the new 1% that leaves them in the company of regular people like us again lol.

But we can't conclude that all US senators are thinking the same way. Some have wider knowledge on bitcoin that made them think that they don't have to fear bitcoin as it won't be replacing their legal currency anyway. While most of the senators have negative critics towards bitcoin and they only believe from one sided stories, not even open on how positive bitcoin will be in the future.

There are many reasons for this, but in fact one of the most simple is their age, in most countries there is a minimum age needed to become a Senator, which means that most of them are old, and as we know there is a generational breach that sometimes is impossible to overcome.

So while for a young person something like bitcoin is something they can easily accept, as their lives are more and more digital, this is not as easy for those of the previous generations, and as such they have problems accepting a form of money that is impossible to touch with their hands.

So lets narrow it.

1. Age
2. Things they do prefer which is on those old and not to this new era where everything is almost dealing with online or digital
3. Emotion
4. Sticking on what government do allow
5. Being not open minded
6. Doesnt accept changes or have that principle on what he should believed.

etc.

As part of governing body on a particular country then you would stick out on centralized things no matter what.

That sounds harsh when you call them old he he but I think its not about how old with them because there are also older people that like btc and there are also young people that does not like btc. Since, there are people that does not like to use a btc. Why are they worrying too much and thinks btc will take over dollar? Also I do not think that its a bad thing for bitcoin to be taxed but is not it supposed to be good? Because, that only means that they legalize btc as a currency if they will taxed it.

USA dollar is so powerful because this is the primary currency to measure btc. USA adopting btc wont affect their influence over the other countries because I think its not only about the currency but its the overall performance of a country.

I see in the US or Australia a lot of crypto exchanges are operating, so the transfer fee is very small. At my place, to send any amount of BTC, the transfer fee must be more than $20 :( because there are too few officially operated exchanges here.

it is not about being old, i guess, it is more on their knowledge about BTC. the more they know about BTC, the more open they will be in the cryptocurrency market. a lot of course will stick to their fiat. but what we are asking is to be more acceptance about BTC market. maybe sooner or later, they will realised that having a logical approach towards crypto like straightforward laws about its taxation will be better rather than ignoring its continued presence. because even without their intervention, crypto market is growing and i don't think anyone can totally stop its movement.

Most of the bitcoin hater's excuse about bitcoin is about its instability and market manipulation. They think this market is controlled by a few elites and legalizing it without any proper regulatory framework will create a risky environment for their citizens. I can not deny that fact but what disappoints me is their little approach towards crypto. Millions of people are already invested in crypto so spending some time on shaping a legal framework will help those investors a lot.

The taxing of it is definitely not something that you should be worried about because it means it is legalized but the regulations are not stopping with the taxes neither. Look at New York and look at Texas, the differences there are staggering.

While in New York it would be nearly impossible to get a license to start a business and you would have to basically give up so much, whereas in Texas you could start one for 250 bucks and basically a promise to not do anything illegal. That type of difference what makes these types of senators go against bitcoin and this is what makes regulations matter the most for crypto people as well.

Yes, we would love a regulation but what type of it? If it is New York kind then it would be horrible, if it is the Texas kind then it would be wonderful. It is not always "they made it legal and that is a good thing" if the legal part comes with so much problems.

The reasons that you are giving are the most important ones, however and additional reason is that while in a truly democratic government the power will change hands, we also know that in most countries there are a series of actors that have so much power that they are the power behind the power.

Those people do not see with good eyes something like bitcoin as the control they have with fiat currencies is so extreme that anything less than that feels like a loss to them, so they are not willing to give up the power they have, and this is why they oppose bitcoin and any decentralized currency with all the influence and power they have.

The decentralization of Bitcoin is out of their control and they are more used to the centralized way without really realizing the benefits and importance of Bitcoin.
As bitcoin is accepted by more and more people, it is more valued, and they will slowly accept it.