The Biden Administration's Crypto Policy: A Legacy of Hostility

The opinion piece by Ryan Cummings and Jared Bernstein attempts to justify the Biden administration's handling of cryptocurrency by highlighting its efforts to curb scams and fraud. However, this narrative glosses over the administration's failed strategy of 'regulation by enforcement,' which led to the demise of legitimate businesses, harmed consumers, and stifled American innovation. The authors conveniently ignore the infamous 'Operation Choke Point 2.0,' where banks, under pressure from federal regulators, systematically debanked lawful crypto businesses without due process. This approach ultimately benefited malicious actors like Sam Bankman-Fried, who exploited the lack of clear rules to commit massive financial fraud. The authors' dismissal of cryptocurrency as a 'painfully slow and expensive database' with limited practical use is also misguided, as it overlooks the significant benefits of blockchain technology in facilitating fast, low-cost cross-border remittances and underpinning a growing ecosystem of financial applications. The Biden administration's crypto policy has been a resounding failure, and it is the administration's critics, not its supporters, who have run out of excuses.