Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Buy Crypto
And don't let Democrats vote for a crypto bill that won't fix anything
I have long been a critic of crypto because it really is just for libertarians and criminals, no matter how it’s sold to people. Especially young people. Now Paul Krugman has sent up a second urgent smoke signal about just how bad it is.
Yesterday, Senate Republicans tried to ram through a textless bill whose purpose was to legitimize crypto as a real currency, which it is not. It failed, because Democrats and a handful of Republicans voted against it not on the principle, but on the lack of any meaningful text. This is not a good sign, as Krugman notes.
The setback for Republicans also reflected the stench of Trumpist corruption that increasingly hangs over all things crypto. The $Trump and $Melania memecoins have been used for what amounts to brazen bribery. So has USD1, the stablecoin recently introduced by World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto firm. It’s hard to overstate how big a deal this is. Thanks to crypto, the president of the United States is now effectively for sale, and the buyers appear to include not just wealthy foreigners but foreign governments.
We have talked about this on the podcast but I cannot emphasize this enough: Crypto is vaporware which is a vehicle for straight up bribes from literally anyone with enough money to be recognized by the Trump family. Here we have crypto traders buying the $MELANIA meme coin before it even went public! So insider trading AND bribery.
Just last week, international trucking firm Freight Technologies CEO bragged about buying Trump crypto in order to have Trump’s ear regarding tariffs and their trucking business between the U.S. and Mexico.
In a news release published on April 30th, Freight Technologies Inc. CEO Javier Selgas said that buying Trump coin would be “an effective way to advocate for fair, balanced and free trade between Mexico and the U.S.”
Who needs lobbyists when you can just buy off the President of the United States?
Here’s the other problem: These “memecoins” are designed to screw small investors, mostly young people who have been told crypto is the cool new currency of the future. As Krugman explains, “the marketing of crypto has been brilliant, with many small investors in particular still being sucked in by the combination of technobabble and libertarian derp.” It’s further legitimized by companies like Venmo, who offer crypto as a payment vehicle. But after all these years, there isn’t any real reason to buy it or own it. Still, it’s the young folks who are putting their money in, hoping to make the big bucks, only to see their meager holdings devalued when the big boys sell off their holdings.
The SEC has washed their hands of it, saying it’s not a security they’ll regulate. And that makes sense, since SEC regulation would mean some minimum level of accountability. We can’t have that if the purpose is to transfer real money to someone without anyone knowing in order to further a purpose which is less than legitimate.
What can you do about it? Well, if you’re the parent of someone contemplating crypto investments, do your best to make them see why it’s a terrible idea. (Hence, the title of this piece).
But also, CALL YOUR SENATORS, Republican AND Democrat alike, and urge them NOT to approve this bill, which is something the crypto folks want in order to have the dollar underpin their shitty vaporware. (Looking at Kirsten Gillibrand in particular here)
A vote for this bill is a vote to legitimize bribes, crime, and other nefarious activity. It’s not something any of us should support.
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