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

Former economic advisers to the Biden administration, Ryan Cummings and Jared Bernstein, claim that the decline in bitcoin's price vindicates the administration's approach to cryptocurrency. However, their argument relies on selective memory and omission of key facts. The Biden administration's strategy of regulating through enforcement, rather than establishing clear rules, had a devastating impact on legitimate businesses and consumers. The administration's actions allowed bad actors to thrive, while driving compliant companies offshore or out of business. The authors of the op-ed gloss over the 'Operation Choke Point 2.0' episode, in which banks systematically debanked lawful crypto businesses under pressure from federal regulators, and ignore the benefits of cryptocurrency, such as fast and low-cost cross-border remittances. They also dismiss the growing ecosystem of financial applications built on blockchain technology, despite the involvement of major companies like Fidelity, JPMorgan, and Visa. The op-ed's criticism of cryptocurrency is based on short-term price movements and ignores the security and potential of the technology. The authors' concerns about taxpayer-funded bailouts and corruption are unfounded and misleading, and their argument that the crypto industry's political donations imply corruption is hypocritical. The Biden administration had the opportunity to establish the US as a leader in digital asset regulation but instead chose to stifle innovation and harm consumers. The true legacy of Biden's crypto policy is one of hostility and missed opportunities.