U.S. regulators are strangling the cryptocurrency sector. They are pursuing regulation through enforcement instead of offering a clear regulatory framework. The campaign on cryptocurrency, carried out under the pretext of promoting consumer protection, stifles innovation and prevents Americans from accessing new economic opportunities.
The American ideal has historically included home ownership, which is seen as a major life success and a means of accumulating wealth. However, with interest rates and inflation at all-time highs and a severe housing shortage, many people are beginning to lose hope in the American dream.
Through ownership of the online products they use, cryptocurrency provides Americans a new avenue to amass riches. By allowing value to be distributed and tracked digitally through tokens, or digital assets, customers can enjoy the advantages of owning things exactly as in the physical world.
Users’ data was owned by centralized Big Tech entities throughout the most recent major wave of internet innovation, and it was made profitable through advertising. Users have considerably greater control over their personal data and the products they use on the internet based on crypto. This new wealth generation will primarily benefit consumers who have a stake in the products they use, not just Big Tech and its shareholders.
The enormous potential of cryptocurrency has undoubtedly been eclipsed recently by fraud, swindling, and speculation. While there have been instances of cryptocurrency being used for bad purposes, this has always been true of new technology, from the early internet being plagued by phishing scams and email fraud to electricity being promoted as a panacea during the Victorian era.
Even though this user-owned internet is still in its infancy, there are already innumerable instances of how digital ownership has led to more fair outcomes, fewer entry hurdles, and better access to economic opportunities.
By using cryptocurrency, musicians and their followers can get new advantages. Daniel Allen, a budding musician, used a cryptocurrency crowdfunding platform to raise more than $180,000 for his debut album in 2021 and gave supporters 50% of his earnings. This allowed him to maintain more control and commercial rights over his songs while still giving fans ownership and potential upside. He informed me that traditionally, the only way to succeed in the music business was to either sell all of your rights or, if you were really lucky, upload a song online. Since then, several musicians have used comparable strategies, eluding industry gatekeepers in order to better match their interests with those of their fans.
More than 250,000 individuals unexpectedly acquired 400 tokens in September 2020 from Uniswap, the top decentralized cryptocurrency exchange. For many users, the airdrop, which was worth $1,200 at the time, was a sum that changed their lives, enabling them to pursue careers or renovate their homes. But the occasion represented something much more significant: that users, not just founders or shareholders, could claim ownership of a platform and profit from it.
Programmers, designers, and artists can work on a contract basis for companies like Nike and NASA thanks to the decentralized freelance marketplace. Workers keep more of their profits because there is no central corporation collecting a sizable chunk of what they make from providing the service.
You could respond that all of these examples relate to digital natives who utilise cutting-edge technologies off the beaten path of the internet. Although cryptocurrency is still a relatively new phenomena today, it will eventually permeate the goods and services we use on a daily basis.
Crypto has already aided in the formation of online communities, access to employment and income, and increased value capture. By sharing value with users, cryptocurrencies give network builders new tools to create networks more quickly. The United States can encourage more tales like this, with real advantages for regular Americans, by embracing crypto.
Regulators, however, have not yet offered a clear road map for cryptocurrency businesses and projects to follow as they develop in a compliant way. Instead, they have stifled innovation with onerous enforcement measures. America now runs the danger of losing out to other regions of the world like Europe and Asia that are more openly accepting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs.
We humbly request that American officials provide a clear regulatory framework for the sector, one that encourages responsible innovation to benefit all Americans. We have the chance to revitalize the American ideal, not simply the one that has endured for centuries but also a revised version fit for the digital native era.
