> This exemption is a sign that Bitcoin is getting closer to the mainstream of finance.
I think it’s more a sign that crypto is mainstream finance now. Specifically, the type that has enough money sloshing around at the top to warrant lobbying efforts and mingling with the finances of regulators.
> Same for crypto, keeping it on the fringes will only help illegal enterprises and rogue nations use it to bypass sanctions.
None of this has any impact at all on whether or not crypto is used for illicit purposes in other locations. Crypto is also already taxed and legal, so the comparison to cannabis doesn’t make sense either.
Sure, there are substantive differences between Crypto and Cannabis, the point I was trying to make is that Bitcoin is beyond the tipping point. The point that makes sense to bring it into the fold. Secondly, if the USA is seen to be focussed on legitimizing crypto then this would be a signal to NK / RU hacking groups that US Government Agencies are taking an active interest and including it in their daily operational scope. Given the tentacles of US enforcement, this could help limit use of BTC (not all crypto) for illicit purposes.
> the point I was trying to make is that Bitcoin is beyond the tipping point
It’s no longer about Bitcoin. It’s about alternative asset classes. I think the new ventures in the crypto space have realized that BTC is old news and that the real money is in creating endless new crypto assets and ventures.
I guess that is the worry of any government: money that could fuel the economy gets spirited away into dubious Crypto ventures - e.g. Dogecoin. BTC might be old news but it isn't a deliberate scam.
Yes, I realized that once I submitted the comment it could be interpreted that I was suggesting Dogecoin is a scam when actually I just think it is dubious.
Thankfully no one has yet invented a crypto where you receive coins by proving you destroyed physical currency - USD spent on a crypto scam is still circulated through the economy. If anything, according to the greater fool theory, crypto transfers USD from the more gullible to the more manipulative, just as god intended.
I think it’s more a sign that crypto is mainstream finance now. Specifically, the type that has enough money sloshing around at the top to warrant lobbying efforts and mingling with the finances of regulators.
> Same for crypto, keeping it on the fringes will only help illegal enterprises and rogue nations use it to bypass sanctions.
None of this has any impact at all on whether or not crypto is used for illicit purposes in other locations. Crypto is also already taxed and legal, so the comparison to cannabis doesn’t make sense either.