Minnesota Republican Tom Emmer believes that bitcoin and cryptocurrency are the future of money, and he’s trying hard to get the rest of his congressional colleagues to wake up and see the light on digital assets.
Tom Emmer Is a Big Crypto Fan
In a recent interview, Emmer commented that he was first intrigued by digital currencies several years ago, saying they appealed to the “libertarian” in him. He is now pushing for further digital currency acceptance and believes that they can make a huge dent in political campaigns and in how politicians will appear in the future. He’s getting started through his role as co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Blockchain Caucus.
Members of the caucus explain:
This technology will best evolve the same way the internet did; on its own.
In the coming months and years, Emmer says that he really wants cryptocurrency to be viewed as actual money. Right now, in the government’s eyes, most digital currencies are viewed as property, and are thus subject to different regulatory tactics than USD or any other form of fiat. He believes this is a mistake, and comments that currency regulations are driving crypto fans away from America. He says:
This is a disruptive force in the financial industry. It has a huge impact.
He also acknowledges that many of the rules centering on digital currency use in the United States are rather confusing, and he’s working hard at bringing more clarity to these rules. This has been a goal of many past politicians including 2020 presidential hopefuls Andrew Yang and Michael Bloomberg. Both commented during their White House campaigns that if they were elected to the role of commander in chief, they would work hard to ensure all crypto rules were written in plain English and would be understandable to the common public.
Unfortunately, neither of these candidates were able to make serious dents in the presidential race and wound up suspending their accounts before anyone had a chance to take them seriously. It was proof that at the time, America probably wasn’t ready to devote more time to comprehending or using crypto.
However, this past year has led to serious changes in the American financial spectrum, with assets like BTC now being viewed not under a speculative lens, but rather as a hedge tool; a store of wealth that can potentially keep people’s portfolios safe during times of economic strife. This suggests that perhaps people like Andrew Yang were just a little ahead of their time.
Crypto Will Soon Be Part of Everyday Life
Either way, individuals such as Vivian Fang – who teaches a graduate cryptocurrency course in Minnesota – believe that crypto will eventually become part of everyone’s lives, claiming:
The goal of this revolution is to protect cypher punks and their interests from government interference and intervention.
Tags: Andrew Yang, crypto rules, Tom Emmer