Have you ever noticed that as soon as people find a way to earn without banks and taxes, “lawmakers” suddenly emerge from somewhere?
And now: the Digital Asset Bill is a shining example of how politicians with good connections and even better portfolios decided: “Let’s regulate all this crypto madness. Well, so that only the necessary guys remain. Us.” Yes, friends, we are back on the same show: when the rich make laws to get richer.
Who is on stage?
In the lead role — French Hill, a Republican from Arkansas, a big fan of “innovation” if it brings money to the right pockets. Together with other “architects of financial integrity,” he proposed a bill that divides powers between the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). They will supposedly sort out which token is a security, and which is just “another attempt to become Elon Musk with a Telegram bot.”
Here’s a bit of digital poetry for you:
• 2023: the volume of the crypto market is about $1.6 trillion.
• Only in the US, crypto investors (officially) own assets worth over $180 billion.
• 58% of millennials in the US view crypto as a long-term investment.
• And here’s a surprise: almost 70% of respondents do not understand the difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum. But they understand perfectly: if you can earn and not pay tax right away — it works.
And now seriously (almost)
The bill requires projects to “disclose everything.” Token? Disclose the economics. NFT? Disclose why this JPEG is even necessary.
And if you say that blockchain is decentralized — prove it.
So, that means: “Guys, we have a DAO” — no longer works. Now a DAO must essentially be a DAO with legal certificates and a lawyer in glasses.
But what does this mean in practice?
1. Green light for big players. Coinbase, Kraken, BlackRock — are smiling. Startups with 5 developers on Discord — are crying.
2. Regulatory trap. The SEC has long wanted to label almost everything as a security. And now there will be an opportunity to do this on semi-legal grounds.
3. Centralization of decentralization. The law promises that “blockchains will be able to prove their decentralization.” That is, to be decentralized, you need to centrally obtain a certificate of decentralization. Brilliant.
Between the lines: a global game
While the US tidies up its sandbox, the UK declares: “Hey, crypto — it’s personal property.” There, digital assets are equated with traditional property. Almost like a car or a vinyl collection. In other words, if you steal an NFT — you are not just banned on OpenSea, you can be sued.
And in Russia… well you know: “you can’t pay with Bitcoin, but you can own it, but better not too much.” There’s also a Digital Asset Bill, just called differently and aimed at CFA — digital financial assets. Everything is strict. Everything “within the law.” But they mine — oh how they mine.
