Why is LoomCoin Not the Official Currency of the United States?
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I remain amazed at people’s embrace of cryptocurrency. No one has ever articulated an actual reason why it should exist? But it’s America, who cares I guess, the rich rule and if you aren’t rich, you are a loser, an attitude that will quite possibly help lead to the reelection of Donald Trump in a few months. So if the people promoting fake currencies want to take over the U.S., all they really need is a lot of campaign donations, which is what is happening to great effect.
Cryptocurrency companies and investors have spent at least $149 million over the past four years to thwart tough regulation, elect new allies to Congress and defeat lawmakers seen as potential threats, a campaign that culminated this week with a House vote to soften federal oversight of the embattled industry.
The wide array of financial backers include Coinbase and Ripple, which the U.S. government recently sued for allegedly violating federal rules meant to protect investors from harm. Even as they have come under withering scrutiny, these and other major crypto firms have fought not only to rebuff the charges but to remake the laws entirely, mounting an expensive lobbying effort that has left no part of Washington untouched.
On Capitol Hill, the industry has shelled out more than $60 million to shape federal policy since the start of 2021, according to filings analyzed by The Washington Post and data from OpenSecrets and Public Citizen, two money-in-politics watchdogs. The lobbying campaign helped spur the House on Wednesday to advance the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, the first major piece of legislation on cryptocurrency to clear either chamber of Congress.
The bill would shift some federal oversight of crypto from the Securities and Exchange Commission, an aggressive regulator, to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which some critics see as weaker, friendlier to industry and underfunded. Coinbase, Ripple and lobbying groups like the Blockchain Association and the Crypto Center for Innovation helped House Republicans devise the legislative approach, then aggressively canvassed the Capitol to rally votes for its passage.
Industry executives, investors and workers — along with their companies’ official political operations — have also contributed nearly $90 million to campaigns and other groups over the last two elections, according to the analysis. They supported the architects and advocates of the House bill, including Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.), who chairs the House Financial Services Committee. And the industry financed a trio of powerful new super PACs, which have flooded the airwaves with TV ads touting friendly candidates in both parties — often without mentioning crypto at all.
The spending estimates are an undercount, partly because federal campaign finance laws do not require companies and executives to disclose donations to certain nonprofit groups. Even so, the figures suggest the crypto industry now belongs to a category of Beltway powerhouses that regularly shell out massive sums to influence U.S. policymaking.
Speaking with reporters a day before passage of the House bill, McHenry acknowledged the myriad ways that cryptocurrency companies are “maturing” in Washington, a dynamic he described as critical toward crafting Congress’s first major crypto bill.
On the Democratic side, it looks very likely that Nancy Pelosi will throw her significant political weight behind the bill as well.
Sometimes I feel like giving up.