Crypto bros are known to self-identify as libertarians, believing in the primacy of individual autonomy and the minimal interference of government or any other centralised authority in our lives. Quartz drew a nice Venn diagram of the overlap between the two groups in an article back in May:
But while six months ago it was all “RIP fiat” and “we don't need government”, it appears that some in the crypto community are changing their tune. (We're not sure if this has anything to do with the more-than-halving of the estimated value of the crypto market since the start of the year.)
On Friday, Andreesen Horowitz-backed crypto giant Coinbase said in a public filing that it had set up a Political Action Committee, or a PAC, to spend on upcoming elections. (PACs are organisations in the US that collect donations of at least $1,000 specifically to influence the outcome of elections or to campaign for other initiatives or legislation.)
That came in the same week that the New York Post reported that the Winkelevoss twins donated $100,000 to the re-election campaign of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo -- less than a month before the twins' Gemini crypto exchange was given approval to operate in the state. Once the approval had been secured, the Winklevii chucked in another $30,000 for good measure, according to the Post.
It's not yet clear exactly who the lucky recipient(s) of Coinbase's PAC funds will be, and the company wasn't immediately available for comment on that. It's likely that this is largely an effort to show its investors that it's working on getting greater (Wall) Street cred. (Getting “whitelisted” by Facebook probably helps, too.) But it's clear that Coinbase, Gemini, and others in cryptoland have become very keen to get a stamp of approval from government.
Tim Swanson, founder of tech consultancy Post Oak Labs, told us:
The irony of setting up a PAC, or lobbying organisation, or even donating directly to specific candidates, is that the underlying architectural assumption with cryptocurrencies - such as bitcoin - is that they are anarchic by design. That is to say, these networks were originally architected to bypass intermediaries and traditional gatekeepers.As the Mueller indictment of the GRU last week explained, the officers used bitcoin to avoid direct relationships with traditional financial institutions. If even in a different universe Satoshi had wanted to create a network that directly interfaced with the traditional legal system, bitcoin would likely not look like it does today (certainly no need for proof-of-work). And many of its earliest promoters -- anarchists and libertarians of various stripes -- would probably not have been interested in using or promoting it.
To use an analogy, an anarchist PAC is like a libertarian police department: it's a contradiction in terms.
But while the heavyweights court the powers that be directly, the humbler crypto bros are begging to be accepted by the SEC by writing in to try to get the latest bitcoin ETF approved. (The SEC has already rejected about ten.)
The SEC published some of the letters on its site and they make for a great -- if often perplexing -- read. We didn't have to go far to find some absolute, utter gems. (If there was ever any doubt that “crypto bros” is an apposite term, take a quick glance at the names of the letter-submitters.)
Take this one, to which we have added emphasis but not sic notations for space and readability purposes:
I strongly support the proposal of Bitcoin ETF.In December because of SEC approval of Futures, Bitcoin went up from $3K to $20K. we again need SEC help to make money for small retail investors who lost lot of money in last 7 months. ETF has potential to take the price of Bitcoin from $6K to $30K in few days and that can start the new crypto cycle and help US economy during these trade wars.
ETF will be the great news for US economy. crypto is the future and US can lead the world by allowing ETF. Crypto Investors around the world is eagerly waiting for SEC to approve it and support this revolution.
Vive la (government-backed) révolution! And if you thought that was deep, it got way more existential in some of the other comment letters:
Adapt or die. Approve Bitcoin ETF and take the leading step for advancing the human race through the revolutionary technology we have been gifted
The winning comment letter is probably from the guy who managed to get this published on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America (emphasis ours, again):
We support the integration of the Bitcoin ETF to build a space society capable of propelling mankind forward to the atomic age. We believe the Pied Pipers of the SEC will make the dreams of the cult of crypto a reality. We stand ready to invest all of our fiat, valuable or not into this ETF. We promise to be completely responsible. Pretty please make this legal, with a cherry on top.I. C. Weiner.
Related links:
Crypto's most devout believers are suffering a crisis of faith - FT Alphaville
Winklevoss twins donate $130k to Cuomo after getting state approval - New York Post
Frenzy to get bitcoin ETF listed is clogging up the SEC's email - Bloomberg
Crypto bros are known to self-identify as libertarians, believing in the primacy of individual autonomy and the minimal interference of government or any other centralised authority in our lives. Quartz drew a nice Venn diagram of the overlap between the two groups in an article back in May:
But while six months ago it was all “RIP fiat” and “we don't need government”, it appears that some in the crypto community are changing their tune. (We're not sure if this has anything to do with the more-than-halving of the estimated value of the crypto market since the start of the year.)
On Friday, Andreesen Horowitz-backed crypto giant Coinbase said in a public filing that it had set up a Political Action Committee, or a PAC, to spend on upcoming elections. (PACs are organisations in the US that collect donations of at least $1,000 specifically to influence the outcome of elections or to campaign for other initiatives or legislation.)
That came in the same week that the New York Post reported that the Winkelevoss twins donated $100,000 to the re-election campaign of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo -- less than a month before the twins' Gemini crypto exchange was given approval to operate in the state. Once the approval had been secured, the Winklevii chucked in another $30,000 for good measure, according to the Post.
It's not yet clear exactly who the lucky recipient(s) of Coinbase's PAC funds will be, and the company wasn't immediately available for comment on that. It's likely that this is largely an effort to show its investors that it's working on getting greater (Wall) Street cred. (Getting “whitelisted” by Facebook probably helps, too.) But it's clear that Coinbase, Gemini, and others in cryptoland have become very keen to get a stamp of approval from government.
Tim Swanson, founder of tech consultancy Post Oak Labs, told us:
The irony of setting up a PAC, or lobbying organisation, or even donating directly to specific candidates, is that the underlying architectural assumption with cryptocurrencies - such as bitcoin - is that they are anarchic by design. That is to say, these networks were originally architected to bypass intermediaries and traditional gatekeepers.As the Mueller indictment of the GRU last week explained, the officers used bitcoin to avoid direct relationships with traditional financial institutions. If even in a different universe Satoshi had wanted to create a network that directly interfaced with the traditional legal system, bitcoin would likely not look like it does today (certainly no need for proof-of-work). And many of its earliest promoters -- anarchists and libertarians of various stripes -- would probably not have been interested in using or promoting it.
To use an analogy, an anarchist PAC is like a libertarian police department: it's a contradiction in terms.
But while the heavyweights court the powers that be directly, the humbler crypto bros are begging to be accepted by the SEC by writing in to try to get the latest bitcoin ETF approved. (The SEC has already rejected about ten.)
The SEC published some of the letters on its site and they make for a great -- if often perplexing -- read. We didn't have to go far to find some absolute, utter gems. (If there was ever any doubt that “crypto bros” is an apposite term, take a quick glance at the names of the letter-submitters.)
Take this one, to which we have added emphasis but not sic notations for space and readability purposes:
I strongly support the proposal of Bitcoin ETF.In December because of SEC approval of Futures, Bitcoin went up from $3K to $20K. we again need SEC help to make money for small retail investors who lost lot of money in last 7 months. ETF has potential to take the price of Bitcoin from $6K to $30K in few days and that can start the new crypto cycle and help US economy during these trade wars.
ETF will be the great news for US economy. crypto is the future and US can lead the world by allowing ETF. Crypto Investors around the world is eagerly waiting for SEC to approve it and support this revolution.
Vive la (government-backed) révolution! And if you thought that was deep, it got way more existential in some of the other comment letters:
Adapt or die. Approve Bitcoin ETF and take the leading step for advancing the human race through the revolutionary technology we have been gifted
The winning comment letter is probably from the guy who managed to get this published on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America (emphasis ours, again):
We support the integration of the Bitcoin ETF to build a space society capable of propelling mankind forward to the atomic age. We believe the Pied Pipers of the SEC will make the dreams of the cult of crypto a reality. We stand ready to invest all of our fiat, valuable or not into this ETF. We promise to be completely responsible. Pretty please make this legal, with a cherry on top.I. C. Weiner.
Related links:
Crypto's most devout believers are suffering a crisis of faith - FT Alphaville
Winklevoss twins donate $130k to Cuomo after getting state approval - New York Post
Frenzy to get bitcoin ETF listed is clogging up the SEC's email - Bloomberg
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