In the ongoing saga of the congressional hearing on the Facebook backed Calibre payment network, my favorite speech of the whole proceeding is by far this from Congressman Tom Emmer who is one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus.
As many politicians are wont to do, Mr Emmer's language is somewhat complex and convoluted. Below, I have included the YouTube clip along with a summary of my understanding of what he is saying in plain English.
Tom Emmer starts by pointing out that congress has habitually ignored cryptocurrencies. He highlights that Bitcoin is now ten years old and this is the first time a congressional hearing has discussed a technology that:
like the internet, will upend the way we do everything in our lives.
He goes on to point out that it is unfortunate that some people in the united states government want to unnecessarily restrict blockchain technology
or even ban it... they fear change
through misunderstanding the realities of the benefits that blockchain innovations could have
for these united states.
He then goes on to point out that the conversation of suppression of cryptocurrencies has only come about through the advent of Facebook trying to create a project that doesn't fulfill the decentralized model of a true public blockchain.
He vehemently attacks Facbook's Libre as a centralized payment system, addressing the Facebook representative:
unfortunately, Mr Marcus... you and your company have decided to approach this undertaking with as equal a level of ignorance and misunderstanding as those who wish to quell any new developments in cryptocurrency.
People have concerns over how much data you have on them.... and now you want to be their money too. I hope members of this committee investigate the fact that quote 'the people already have options separate from your central control'.
Tom Emmer is basically saying, that the government should focus on supporting and understanding (possibly regulating) true open source blockchains, which is where the true innovation lies. He goes on to address the recent overly zealous attacks on cryptocurrency by US Secretary of Treasury, Steven Mnuchin by stating:
the dollar and all fiat backed currencies have been proven to be the largest means of illicit behavior and money laundering.
He goes on to say that there is no way to suppress the freedom of people to continue to make open blockchain networks to remove centralized influence and the manipulation of middle men. He categorically states that Libre (facebook crypto) in fact relies on middle men.
He finishes up by saying that this is an incredible opportunity for government officials to learn about the mechanisms and benefits of real cryptocurrencies.
Conclusion
I find this speech to be incredibly reassuring and a sign that things are moving toward some type of adoption by government and regulators. Tom Emmer is one of the representatives set up by the US government to research blockchain tech and cryptocurrency to assess it's viability as a innovative/beneficial technology. In stating this pro Bitcoin/anti Libre stance, he is essentially showing an indication of some logical understanding of the technology in the higher regions of the american government. This can only be a good thing for all legitimate blockchain projects and cryptocurrencies!
This summary is an opinion piece. The information provided here is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered as any type of financial and/or investment advice.
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