Can Cryptocurrency Set Us "Free" ?
The United States of America was founded with the motto “freedom and justice for all”, a country for the people, by the people. In a world filled with monarchies and dictators, the US was a shining light of freedom and democracy. Unfortunately, regulation and government control in these United States of America has drastically increased since the country was founded, especially with the rise of technology; and more recently with fintech and cryptocurrency. Under the pretense of protecting citizens, the US has created thousands of laws that limit our freedom and infringe on our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
It has gotten to the point that it is almost impossible to start your own business unless you are very wealthy That's because there are licenses, fees, and laws every step of the way that require a large amount of cash and an expensive lawyer before you are legally allowed to make your first business transaction. The result of this over-regulation of business is modern day slavery.
Modern Day Slavery
This is evident when you see the poor being forced to work minimum wage jobs where they earn just enough money to eat, but can’t really afford anything else. Even if you work full-time on minimum wage ($8-10 per hour), you can’t even afford your own place to stay, or a car, let alone ever save up money for emergencies or a vacation.
It is obvious that the rich people, who are in total control of the government, want to keep the massive wealth and class divide, if not make it even more drastic. This is why they are absolutely terrified about the rise of cryptocurrency. The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency means that transactions on the various crypto networks cannot be regulated. Moreover, transactions are secured using sophisticated cryptographic algorithms, are often anonymous, and cannot be frozen.
Traditional Financial System - Bad for Business?
Banks, on the other hand, are centralized, highly regulated, and your bank transactions can be frozen indefinitely with a click of a mouse, and they don’t even have to give you a valid reason. This makes banks bad for business, so it isn’t a shock that more and more people are flocking to cryptocurrencies to conduct business and to store wealth, since they have peace of mind that their money won’t be seized.
Cryptocurrency has the potential to give freedom back to the people, to use their money how they want, when they want, and wherever they want. This monetary freedom has given the poor a fighting chance to start their own enterprise and make a decent living, and an opportunity to escape modern day slavery.
Crypto Hard To Regulate, Compared To Fiat
It is difficult to regulate transactions on cryptocurrency blockchains, and no matter how much the government despises crypto, that is the beauty of cryptographic security. However, when converting fiat to cryptocurrency, or vice versa, a bank is usually required, and the banks have seized and reversed enormous amounts of transactions involving crypto, under direction of the government.
Notably, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has declared it illegal to buy and sell significant amounts of cryptocurrency without a money service business license, which costs tens of thousands of dollars. It also requires submitting complete reports on the identity of all involved in a transaction (ruining anonymity), and paying lots of taxes. Under this law, just about any business dealing with significant amounts of cryptocurrency has become illegal.
Is Regulation Bad For Crypto?
Furthermore, bank accounts and other financial services accounts like PayPal, Square Cash, etc. have been frozen and terminated. Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges like Bittrex and Binance, declaring them unlawful if they don’t register and follow all (SEC) regulations. Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has created tax laws for cryptocurrency that are extremely intrusive and expensive, to the point that most people can’t realistically follow these laws and pay the legally required amount of taxes, and therefore all their crypto activity becomes illegal.
There are many more financial regulatory organizations in the United States government, and all of them want to play a role in regulating cryptocurrencies. This has resulted in an absurd amount of regulations that must be followed if one wants to deal with cryptocurrency legally, and every week more laws are being introduced. Also, the government appears to be doing this under the guise of protecting the people, but in reality, they are hurting the people by stripping our rights to legally use cryptocurrencies. Worst of all, this is being done without any voting, and the people of the US have no say in this matter.
Should Congress Protect People's Right To Use Crypto?
The congress of the United States of America has a duty to the people to step in and protect our freedom to use cryptocurrency. Congressman Tom Emmer is just one lawmaker who called for action to halt and reverse the ridiculous over-regulation that is taking place, but he does not expect congressional hearings on this topic anytime soon. Considering the behavior of the rest of the government, I fear that upcoming congressional hearings will not lead to anything good for the crypto world. Instead, it could lead to even more extreme regulations.
So what should crypto users do to survive the current and future attempts by the United States of America to ruin crypto freedom? My advice is to always do the right thing when conducting business with cryptocurrency and stay united with your business partners and customers. Oftentimes in history, the law of a nation isn’t the right thing. For example back in Roman times, Jewish people were tortured and executed simply for studying the Torah. If the government isn’t going to protect freedom, it is up to cryptocurrency users to band together and protect freedom ourselves.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://cryptocoremedia.com/congress-america-cryptocurrency/