The tides are turning

Since Bitcoin first came to prominence as an asset class it has faced regulatory headwinds, or at least the threat of a major pushback from lawmakers and three-letter agencies. Many in the financial services sector assumed that Elizabeth Warren would get her way, and that a “Bitcoin ban” was likely.

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This, of course, neglected that fact that you can’t simply extinguish a global, open-source, decentralized monetary network built on affordable and accessible computing devices. But the implications of a ban State-side would have still been significant, nonetheless.

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The validity of these concerns, however, seem to be fading.

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It all started in January when the SEC approved several spot Bitcoin ETFs. After a decade of application denials, the agency finally conceded after losing to Grayscale in court last year. In short, Bitcoin as an asset was legitimized by the largest financial market on earth.

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The massive inflows were promising, and it even came to light recently that one of the largest pension funds in the US had made a sizable allocation to the BlackRock and Grayscale ETFs.

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And then, just in the last two weeks, we observed two major legislative victories at the Federal level.

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First, both the House and Senate passed H.J. Resolution 109, seeking to overturn the SEC’s restriction on regulated financial firms taking custody of Bitcoin and other digital assets. There is still the opportunity for President Biden to veto, which he has threatened to do, but would be done with much less support than one may have previously thought. In an election year, the Biden campaign might find it prudent to not upset the millions of voters who also hold digital assets.

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And then last week, the House passed the Financial Innovations and Technology for the 21st Century Act with “overwhelming bipartisan” support. FIT21 allows for “regulatory clarity and robust consumer protections necessary for the digital asset ecosystem to thrive in the United States.”

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In an age when Washington can’t get anything useful done and bickering has replaced thoughtful discourse, this is quite a bullish development for Bitcoin.

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Unfortunately, a “Bitcoin ban” isn’t the only FUD we’ve heard from the mainstream media. Most people today don’t understand Bitcoin, so there are many false narratives still to overcome. But perhaps the greatest roadblock seems to be vanishing quickly.

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If you’ve been holding off on Bitcoin because “the government would never let it happen,” it’s time to reconsider your position. The tides are indeed turning, and a bright orange future is looking more and more likely.