Could the US Ban Bitcoin? Trump Administration considering BTC regulation.
Can you say mania, for the first time Bitcoin is searched more often than trump:
http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-google-trump-2017-12
Of course this loss in popularity relative to Bitcoin is not being taken lightly
https://bitcoinist.com/trump-administration-considering-regulating-bitcoin/
I think many of us want to believe the crypto is safe from government regulation and control, but it's not. I have seen this meme..
Which could not be further from the truth.
We should look back into history and the curious case of E-Gold the original digital currency that basically started it all.
From a prosecutor at the trial of the E-Gold Founder:
You say E-Gold was found [sic] at least in part based upon a
philosophy that opposed government regulation of financial
institutions and the banking industry. What do you mean when you say that it was founded on a philosophy that opposed government regulation?
Your Honor, the government bases that largely on public
statements made by Dr. Jackson, who has provided public
statements, some that are available or have been available on
E-Gold’s own website. . . . I’m referencing some interviews
that were done with Business Week Magazine or Business
Week online where Dr. Jackson was very candid I think about
his view of his vision for the company which was to create a
system of, sort of a version of a financial institution that
didn’t have government regulation. And that he derided the
U.S. banking system because of the involvement of U.S.
banking regulations and laws.
Sounds a lot like the philosophy of Bitcoin to me. Full text can be found here:
Another excellent article on the subject: https://www.alt-m.org/2017/10/05/can-the-government-destroy-bitcoin/
I'm not trying to spread FUD but common sense has to come into play when we start thinking that BTC is above intervention by US regulators.
Hell there was even a 40 year time period where owning actual Gold became a felony to own.
Full article here: https://cointelegraph.com/news/can-any-government-ban-bitcoin
Quoted Text:
Flashback – Holding Gold Bullion is a Crime
"Those who think that no government (except those run by tinpot dictators) would take the extreme step of banning Bitcoin need a lesson in history. There was a time when holding gold bullion was a crime in America, punishable by a sentence of up to ten years in prison. In 1933, American President Franklin D Roosevelt issued an order requiring all Americans to hand over their gold holdings to the Federal Reserve Bank. The ban on owning gold remained in place for more than four decades, before President Ford legalized gold ownership."
As has been shown it takes but just the swipe of a pen from somebody high up to erase your crypto wallet and banish Bitcoin to a thing of the past.
Do I think it would happen? It's not likely; however, if significant corruption becomes apparent (tether) or if the IRS feels that it is simply being used as a medium to avoid taxes (Coinbase) then things could change.
