I love the United States of America. For all of its faults, it’s continuously beautiful and romantic and quirky and inspiring. But our capital is a nasty place. Federal politics and policymaking is even worse.
I got into crypto because it seemed to combine a new financial system with a unique political energy. I want to see us succeed. For that to happen, I believe we need to work with, or at least mollify, the existing US regulatory apparatus. This will require excellent communication, organization, and political savvy.
Unfortunately, in my experience, crypto is woefully underresourced in Washington. That’s not to say crypto doesn’t have great advocates in DC; we do. But they face long odds and powerful competitors. Take what is perhaps crypto’s greatest adversary - the banking industry - which is one of the most powerful political lobbies in the city. They have well-funded trade organizations, longstanding allies, and widespread political organization. They get to explain how they safeguard friendly fiat dollars for middle class Americans. Our folks get asked why 17-year-olds are buying 256-bit dickbutt jpegs on The Dark Web with dog coins.
I hope I can help us. And I think the best way to do that, given what talents and experience I have, is to try to explain some of the intricacies of the DC world to all of you. Read on. WAGMI.
I do or did work for a US federal financial regulator. This is the result of my independent writing and does not necessarily represent the views of my employer.
