Why This U.S. Congressman Compared Bitcoin Investment With Playing The Lottery

Reynaldo Marquez

3 years ago

2 mins read

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The U.S. Congress Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hybrid hearing on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The institution summoned Alexis Goldstein, Director of Financial Policy for the Open Market Institute, Sarah Hammer, Managing Director at the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance, Peter Van Valkenburgh, Director of Research at Coin Center, and others.

Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, made a detailed summary of the event. The members of the Committee made their opening statements with Congressman Tom Emmer defending Bitcoin and the potential of blockchain technology to create more trust and transparency in traditional systems.

Similarly, Emmer criticized the lacked clarity on regulation and the danger of U.S. companies leaving to other territories consequently. The representative called for answers on a key topic: the classification of digital assets and whether they will be treated as securities, commodities, or currencies.

However, not every member of the Committee was an advocate of Bitcoin. Representative Brad Sherman claimed that “he would rather people make ‘bets’ in equity markets or the California lottery” than invest in BTC or cryptocurrencies. He added:

(…) the only advantage of crypto is avoiding KYC and its supported by anarchists for tax evasion.

Representative Anthony Gonzalez seemed to support cryptocurrencies and encouraged everyone to listen to the opinions of all the members in the Committee and not just the hostiles ones. He classified the idea of investing in the California lottery over Bitcoin as “ridiculous”.

U.S. Representive @RepAGonzalez, with a line of questioning that flips the typical argument against #Bitcoin on its back, "99.9% of money laundering with fiat currencies go unprosecuted" pic.twitter.com/cvbS3sfeHM

— Documenting ₿itcoin 📄 (@DocumentingBTC) June 30, 2021

Does Bitcoin Need New Regulations?

Amongst the speakers, Valkenburgh’s presentation highlighted the importance of Bitcoin as a tool that aids different human rights causes around the world. He cited the Nigerian Feminist Coalition in Nigeria to demonstrate the power of receiving money with a censorship resistance network anywhere in the world.

10/ wow Peter just cited the Nigerian Feminist Coalition / #EndSARS movement as an example of bitcoin powering freedom and censorship resistance around the world – love this being on the congressional record

(see this amazing podcast w @AnitaPosch – https://t.co/f6J15x3wsg)

— Meltem Demirors (@Melt_Dem) June 30, 2021

Valkenburgh believes there is sufficient regulation in the crypto industry. His argument had two main points: over the past 10 years, several federal and local governments issued their own legislation towards this new asset class. He added that technologies within the blockchain are a type of regulation.

(…) onramps, offramps and exchanges, are money transmitters, banks and trusts, and are all under the BSA, report to FINRA and require KYC/AML.

In BTC’s decade of existence, there have been no reports of a U.S.-based exchange that has suffered major losses. Regulators in this country have swiftly punished fraud, money launders, and other crimes related to the industry.

Valkenburgh thinks that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) from China and other “totalitarian governments” will launch in the coming years. Thus, he called on the U.S. Congress to accept financial inclusion or “cede” the influence of these governments. Representative Warren Davidson agreed.

U.S Representive @WarrenDavidson, "China is building the creepiest surveillance tool in history…that's why we should be embracing decentralized ledger technology." pic.twitter.com/PdorEcBikX

— Documenting ₿itcoin 📄 (@DocumentingBTC) June 30, 2021

At the time of writing, BTC trades at $34,856 with losses in the lower timeframes. The first cryptocurrency by market cap has experienced a downtrend in the past days and could face further unless it makes a significant push towards former highs.

Reynaldo Marquez

A literature major, Reynaldo Márquez has been deeply immersed in the crypto industry since 2017. His journey began with translating articles for various crypto news outlets, a role he took on with zeal. In 2018, amidst a challenging market, he embraced his first writing assignment, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to the nascent industry and the promise of change it bears for many people worldwide.
In March 2021, he joined the prestigious crypto news outlet NewsBTC and Bitcoinist, where he not only reported on the latest crypto news but also had the privilege of interviewing some of the industry's most influential figures. A year later, his dedication and hard work were recognized, and he was promoted to Managing Editor, a position he currently holds with pride.
He believes in honesty, good communication, hard work, and the power of cryptocurrency and its potential to transform people's lives, especially those alienated by the legacy financial system. Born in 1992 in Venezuela, Reynaldo is familiar with how governments and central banks can negatively affect people, their everyday lives, and their futures by creating inflation and erasing their hopes for a better future. Thus, like many Venezuelans, he embraced this new technology to help him and his family navigate difficult times.
In another life, Reynaldo would have pursued a career as an investigator, most likely tracking down the origins of the Cyberpunk movement with the publication of William Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer.’ The intersection between fiction and reality, with the materialization of Bitcoin in 2009, would have allowed him to dive deep into the crypto sphere as something more than a financial phenomenon but also a cultural shift in society that was brewing since the XX century, and maybe even sooner, in the XIX century with the publication of Henry David Thoreau’s ‘Civil Disobedience.’
But that’s for another life. In this one, Reynaldo has been trading to improve his trading skills. Since 2023, he has been trying to learn Python to create successful strategies and find ways to execute them. It is a difficult task, which continues to keep him busy today and will most likely continue to keep him busy in the near and long term.
In his free time, he enjoys lifting heavy objects, reading, watching movies, and listening to his favorite music. Some of his favorite authors are Walt Whitman, William Faulkner, Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin, Raymond Carver, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, Mario Vargas Llosa, Reinaldo Arenas, Rafael Cadenas, and many others. Lately, he has been primarily interested in reading about dystopic societies, a topic that deeply resonates with the crypto industry.
Since 2023, he has lived in Spain with his wife. He loves the weather, the food, and the people and their culture. They both expect to travel much more within the country they now call home and beyond its border. He hopes to retire with his wife, maybe in a quiet place near a beach, but most likely in a city close to a library and a university with his kids and, hopefully, grandkids.

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