The US government has been paying a lot of attention to the cryptocurrency industry in the past few years. However, even now America is unlikely to be able and will try to ban Bitcoin, says Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange.
According to him, the digital asset industry has become too large and popular to be subject to harsh bans from financial regulators. So, worrying about the future of blockchain coins is not worth it. Here is his point of view.
To begin with, we note that attempts to call Bitcoin and other coins illegal are happening even now. In particular, officials from India were one of the last to do this, who even announced the preliminary date of the ban and gave people time to get rid of cryptocurrencies.
However, it did not end with anything. Citizens switched to p2p platforms, that is, they traded with each other without the participation of centralized exchanges. The trend became clear from the sharp increase in trade volumes. An example of such sites is LocalBitcoins, the topic of which we discussed in a separate article.
As a result, the local government backed down. Well, they did not even try to introduce a full-fledged ban.
What will happen to Bitcoin
Here is one of Winklevoss’s quotes that he voiced on the air of What Bitcoin Did, a cryptocurrency podcast featuring Peter McCormack. In it, he recalled past times and shared his opinion on the current situation. The replica is provided by Cointelegraph.
I think if we were to go back to 2013, the ban on cryptocurrencies would still be a kind of open question. However, the United States will no longer outlaw Bitcoin. Too many precedents have been set in the courts. For example, in the Coinflip case, which was an active trial by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the financial regulator classified Bitcoin in the same asset class as gold.
Winklevoss brothers, founders of Gemini crypto exchange
Recall that back in 2015, representatives of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission called BTC a commodity when it came to litigation with Derivabit, a platform for trading options on BTC. Derivabit, a Coinflip product at the time, did not meet regulatory requirements, the agency said .
In the context of this event, Winklevoss also did not forget to mention the Gemini exchange, the head of which he is together with his brother Cameron.
We are a New York Trust Company regulated by the NYC Department of Financial Services. So much will have to be canceled in the event of a complete ban on cryptocurrencies. We are also talking about companies that make a career, build an economy, some of them go public. They are going to become stock market drivers. This is unlikely for me. Of course, nothing can be ruled out, but still cryptocurrencies are unlikely to be completely banned.
That is, in fact, the entrepreneur considers the blockchain asset industry to be too large-scale and significant for the world. In addition, they improve the lives of people – including those without access to normal financial services. Therefore, the harm from a negative decision on cryptocurrencies will be more than good.
In addition, it is important to understand that a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies is not enough. Since the networks of Bitcoin, Ethereum or other coins are decentralized, they work by having users. Accordingly, as long as at least one node and a miner remain in the network, it will work. Yes, after the abrupt departure of the miners, the mining of the block will have to wait, but in the end it will still be found. And then, due to the decrease in the complexity of the network, blocks will be mined again in about ten minutes.
Cryptocurrency market capitalization growth since the beginning of 2020
Winklevoss also mentioned regulators as stakeholders in the development of the crypto market. They take into account the well-being of companies and consumers, but some may also hold BTC and view cryptocurrency as a valuable investment. He also noted the trend of many emerging leaders in the crypto industry taking up government positions. Tyler continues.
I think that there are so many people in the US who believe in cryptocurrencies that I consider the likelihood of a complete industry collapse almost zero. I think the same is true for the UK, Europe and Singapore. Our exchange is in the process of licensing with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, their main regulatory body. All jurisdictions that are free and open markets and believe in capitalism are embracing the rise of the crypto industry. It has long been clear to everyone that digital assets carry more opportunities than threats.
As a result, the billionaire makes it clear that, firstly, it is too late to prohibit cryptocurrencies, because it will not be possible to achieve a result in such a way. Secondly, launching various startups and blockchain projects will only help the economies of countries.
We believe that Tyler Winklevoss’s point of view truly reflects the situation in the world. Cryptocurrencies in a relatively short time of their existence managed to change the niche of finance and win a huge army of fans. In addition, large companies like Tesla and MicroStrategy have already invested in them. It would be too strange for governments to declare war on blockchain assets in such conditions. And the result of the initiative would have been zero.
