As presidential campaigns court the votes of 50 million cryptocurrency investors, it’s time to reintroduce America to the real benefits of blockchain

A cultural and political shift in Washington is suddenly favoring blockchain technology, one of the most important Internet innovations of the past 15 years. Blockchain, whose uses include but are not limited to cryptocurrency, have been received recently bipartisan support in both houses of Congress.

On May 23, the SEC approved spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for a type of cryptocurrency known as Ethereum. It was the second type of ETF after Bitcoin to bring cryptocurrency exposure to mainstream investors and to be authorized by the SEC, the most incredulous crypto regulator. That same week, the House passed FIT21, a bill intended to provide regulatory clarity to the digital currency industry, which has been demanding clear guidance on how to operate under U.S. law for a decade.

Finding the right balance between regulatory compliance and the decentralized finance promised by blockchain-based cryptocurrencies will take time. And it will probably never be perfect. President Biden vetoed the resolution to overturn SAB 121, demonstrating a conflict within the Democratic Party over how the technology should evolve. However, given the stigma that has clouded blockchain technology innovation under the banner of dark cryptocurrency failures, such as the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, the sudden bipartisan political interest in crypto-native technology is one extraordinarily positive development for the future of the new system. Internet.

Today, more than 50 million Americans own some form of cryptocurrency. Traditional financial institutions are too move in a chain to improve settlement, reduce friction and human errors, and improve global accessibility to monetary assets. Yet, the benefits of blockchain are much more than financial use cases.

In an election year with cryptocurrencies in the spotlight and both important presidential campaigns Paying attention to cryptocurrencies would reportedly be a missed opportunity to not reintroduce our industry and what we are fighting for.

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Much more than just cryptocurrency

Defending the crypto ecosystem goes far beyond new financial products. This is a new approach to the Internet, based on blockchain technology and often referred to as “web3”, which will improve the online foundations that we all use every day to transact, communicate, protect our families and carry out many of the tasks of our daily lives .

Cryptocurrency is just one application of blockchain, a series of technologies that form a more secure Internet as an autonomous platform layer for applications, products and services.

The main mission of communities building blockchains is to protect your data and privacy and put control back in the hands of users. Blockchain-based applications counterbalance the power of large technology companies who are known to abuse their dominant position as facilitators and intermediaries to censor, restrict, and unfairly extract value from their customers. For example, if your email account is hosted on a blockchain-enabled decentralized server, it can keep your communications private, rather than being mined by Big Tech to serve you ads or blatantly sell your data to third parties. Blockchains provide robust binaries for such privacy technology.

Blockchains can even mediate some of the risks of AI by democratizing the AI ​​model pipeline by making them open source, transparent, testable by software developers everywhere, and, as a result, inherently safer.

Blockchains enable citizens to participate fully and equally in the economy. The possibilities vary widely and are often surprising: from a weather company that turns local vehicles like drones, cars or even tractors into weather sensors, to compensating participants with a form of cryptocurrency, or an app that unlocks automotive data to allow drivers to perform smarter maintenance. decisions or sell your car directly to others in the community at fair value.

And in an election year, blockchain has particularly relevant applications. Smart contracts can serve as irrefutable proof of identity and on-chain activity, maintaining the integrity of the local electoral process. We can also rely on blockchain as a public record of the provenance of intellectual property, which would help preserve the accuracy of verified news outlets and help mitigate the onslaught of misinformation we saw four years ago.

Given all the current and potential benefits that the new blockchain-based Internet offers our people, economy, and society, it’s no wonder that crypto-native technology is suddenly finding bipartisan favor in Washington.

Government policies that support blockchain technologies, while providing barriers to deter bad actors, will encourage the progress, innovation, and entrepreneurship that are inherent in our national ethos.

As Americans reflect on how their government can support a better future, the message from the blockchain community has never been stronger: Our government owes its citizens a commitment to maintaining our edge as the technical innovators of the free world.

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