Since the introduction of Bitcoin, cryptocurrency has fought to gain acceptance. It was a tough challenge, met with naysayers at every level.
One of the biggest reasons that crypto was met with such resistance is the threat it poses to the established system. Those in power, and who are profiting off things, prefer the status quo. Innovation that puts their profits (and control) at risk are meant to be thwarted.
This was the position that cryptocurrency found itself in. Even though it came a long way, especially in the last few years, there is still a formidable force that wants to see it collapse.
Things are changing in stages. As time passes, crypto is finding more advocates. While they are still the minority, some are starting to penetrate the powerful institutions, which could end up having an impact.
We see a few news articles that all could help the push forward with cryptocurrency.
President Trump names Hester Pierce for a second term at the SEC
Heter Pierce is known as "Crypto Mom". She is one of the strongest advocates for cryptocurrency anywhere in the United States government.
If approved by the Senate, Pierce could be in office until 2025.
As a commissioner, she strongly defended cryptocurrency and voted against the rejection of Bitcoin ETFs. While this was all for naught so far, having a voice in the SEC is much better than not having one. Another term would mean she has more time to work on the other commissioners in an effort to negate the approach the agency is taking toward cryptocurrency.
Pierce also laid out a plan to give all cryptocurrency projects 3 years to decentralize. If, after that time, they did not meet that qualification, then they would be deemed a security, putting the projects at risk of being in violation of the Securities Act.
The fact that Trump named her again is interesting considering his stance on Bitcoin. Publicly at least, he blasted Bitcoin showing himself to be no ally.
Crypto advocate Jonathan Herzog Is running for U.S. House of Representatives
In the Democratic primary for the 10th Congressional District in New York, Jonathon Herzog will be squaring off against Jerry Nadler. Herzog believes that the future is in open source and decentralization.
Herzog most recently worked on Andrew Yang's failed run at the Democratic nomination for President. He accused his opponent of being asleep when it comes to cryptocurrency.
Even if the run does fail, we can count on it being part of the narrative during the campaign. Again, another individual with a platform advocating for cryptocurrency is of benefit.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell Endorses An Ethereum Replacement To LIBOR
LIBOR is central in the global financial system. Basically, it is what sets interest rates that businesses and individuals will pay on loans such as mortgages and student debt.
Unfortunately, it has been manipulated over the years by traders seeking to generate more profits. Once it became exposed, Central Banks started to look for an alternative. It appears that the Fed Chair believes he found one.
AMERIBOR is a project on the Ethereum blockchain. It provides a reference rate that Powell believes banks can use to establish their rates.
AFX plans to mint two non-fungible tokens, unlike Bitcoin, for example, which is fungible (meaning every token is the same), for each party in a transaction. They will be compliant with the ERC-721 token standard and will contain information about both the transaction and the counterparty.
When a transaction begins, the tokens are automatically minted by the AFX Blockchain. When it ends, they are automatically settled by using the parity smart contract language.
While the project runs on an independent blockchain, the tie to Ethereum makes all transactions transparent. This is a major step in the established financial system turning to decentralized blockchain, at least in part.
None of these moves is going to make blockchain and cryptocurrency the defacto system overnight. However, if nothing else, it does show the ability to penetrate the existing system to buy some more time. Having a few people to counter the rhetoric against crypto might keep the legal moves at bay long enough for development to continue.
Ultimately, decentralized systems are going to wipe out the centralized ones. To achieve this end, infrastructure needs to be in place to be able to handle that.
We all love the major steps forward yet a battle such as this is won with a series of small steps in the right direction.
Each day the crypto world gets stronger and having a few well placed allies can only help.
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