The True Legacy of Biden's Crypto Policy: Regulation Through Hostility

Biden-era economic advisors Ryan Cummings and Jared Bernstein claim that the decline in bitcoin's price vindicates the administration's crypto policy. However, their argument is based on selective memory, omitting the most significant fact: the administration's approach was not a well-reasoned regulatory framework. Instead, it was a strategy of regulation-by-enforcement, which had a perverse effect: legitimate companies were driven out of business, consumers were harmed, and American innovation was stifled. Meanwhile, bad actors like Sam Bankman-Fried thrived in the confusion. The authors ignore the troubling episode of 'Operation Choke Point 2.0,' where banks systematically debanked lawful crypto businesses without due process. They also dismiss crypto as having 'almost no practical use,' despite its ability to enable fast and low-cost cross-border remittances, which is a significant achievement for millions of people. The Biden administration had the opportunity to establish clear and fair rules for digital asset regulation but instead chose to weaponize the banking system against a legal industry, creating a lose-lose situation for innovation, consumer protection, and the US crypto ecosystem.