Bitcoin Forum

Americans are always very slow to act. But after they decide actions will have more consequences. I don't expect such consultations no good. Cryptocurrency a serious competitor for the dollar. They jeopardize the entire existing banking system. Us banks dominate in the world. I am sure that without a fight they will not surrender. The fed is very serious opponent.

Americans are not slow to act at all and I think they are even the trailblazer in this for their discussion to have gotten to the point of Senate wanting go have an hearing on it shows that they are faster than most countries and are willing to listen to ideas because of their fundamental principle of freedom. A lot of other countries that are so "fast" have come to either regulate crypto currencies or an outright ban without even giving room for dialogue, arguments, counter arguments and the likes.

I don't know how hearing is being done in the States, but if its public then a lot of insightful arguments will have to be put forward with more areas being unleashed that we are yet to tap into and finally giving the Senate members to go study and research about the subject matter rather their routine activities to argue and bicker over simple issues.

I just hope Andreas Antonopoulos will be able to attend, like he did with the Canadian Parliament. His representation at that Senate meeting was "Priceless" and it spearheaded Bitcoin's acceptance in Canada. We need these guys to step up to the plate now, to fight for this technology.

The anti-Bitcoin campaigners {Banks} will be there to attack Bitcoin and we should have our strongest people there to counter them.

I wouldn't assume anything yet. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a congressional hearing on Bitcoin back in November 2013 too. Nothing came of it, although I admit that the tone this time feels a bit more serious.


Personally, I'm more worried about joint regulatory actions (e.g. among G8 or G20 nations, or the EU). These hearings seem aimed at SEC and CFTC oversight with regard to consumer protections. Eventually, governments may feel threatened by Bitcoin, but their position still seems to be that it's too small to matter. If the price goes another order of magnitude higher, that may not be true anymore.

The US isn't a big fan of consensus and will probably chart out its own path. Seeing the way the US has in the past tried to bully global banks into toeing its line, I suspect its laws will try to cover cryptocurrency transactions beyond its borders. In which case, most crypto institutions will avoid the US and US citizens like the plague.

That's true. The US does often act unilaterally. Dealing with US customers implies serious risk from a business standpoint. But it's also a massive market, which is why there will always be institutions seeking their business. Either you have deep pockets for compliance and regulatory risk (like Coinbase), or you operate in the grey/black markets.

I'll be curious to see how organizations like the WTO decide on international cryptocurrency services. For example, in spite of all its takedown and seizure attempts, the WTO ruled against the US government in the Bodog case. An Antiguan license confers the legal right to offer gambling services to the US market, regardless of what the US says. The US authorities dropped all felony charges against Calvin Ayre in that case. So they're not omnipotent.