Crypto has ‘guns pointed at it’ by US regulators, says this tech billionaire
Chamath Palihapitiya, the tech billionaire who predicted two years ago that crypto, particularly bitcoin, will replace gold and reach $200,000, is now considerably more cautious about digital assets.
US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler’s tough stance on cryptocurrency trading platforms in the wake of the banking crisis, the technology expert argued, was a major contributor to the decline.
“Crypto is dead in America,” declared Palihapitiya.
According to Bitcoin bull Palihapitiya, who blamed the digital currency’s demise entirely on the government, the digital currency sector in the US has been strangled to death.
Pointing guns at crypto
He stated:
“Now you (Gensler) even blame the banking crisis on crypto. So the US government has definitely turned its gun on crypto.”
In Palihapitiya’s words, US authorities have become far more aggressive in their pursuit of bad actors in the industry. But according to Gensler, crypto trading platforms must follow strict US securities regulations.
Chamath Palihapitiya. Image: Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
Several companies, including Bittrex and Coinbase Global Inc., have been charged by the SEC with allegedly trading in unregistered securities.
The February proposal to bar financial advisers from trading in bitcoin and the possibility of legal action against a number of Coinbase products are recent instances of the SEC’s enforcement actions.
Coinbase ready for court war
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has said his company is ready for a protracted legal battle with the SEC and is also considering leaving the US if more regulatory clarity is not achieved.
Bittrex has already indicated that it will cease operations in the United States due to “continued regulatory uncertainty.”
Some lawmakers advocated the creation of a new regulatory framework to prevent firms from expanding internationally.
Despite his earlier predictions, Palihapitiya did not specify when he expects the price of Bitcoin to rise again. He believes that the rise of Bitcoin was influenced by people’s loss of faith in leaders.
BTC total market cap nearly unchanged and still at $529 billion on the daily chart at TradingView.com
Meanwhile, some pundits have dubbed the situation “Operation Choke Point 2.0” – an allegedly coordinated effort by regulators to prevent banks from holding bitcoin or providing services to crypto firms.
Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, peaked at nearly $69,000 in November 2021, but the market quickly reversed as the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to fight inflation.
Bitcoin was selling for $27,378 at the time of writing, down 7.6% over the past seven days, according to statistics from crypto market tracker CoinMarketCap.
– Featured image from Adobe Stock
