On account of the 10th anniversary of Bitcoin’s first processed
On account of the 10th anniversary of Bitcoin’s first processed block, a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange, Gemini put some ads on several public spots in the city.
The advertisement, that reads “Crypto needs rules,” fell into the view of a crypto enthusiast and former Coinbase staff, Nick Foley.
Foley expressed his opinion about the ad through his comment, saying “No. Crypto doesn’t need that.”
Rules like mathematics? Sure. Crypto needs that. Rules like "KYC AML licencing taxation Patriot Act bitlicense bullshit?" No. Crypto doesn't need that. pic.twitter.com/8azzqCKlwa
— Nick Foley (@BookofNick) January 4, 2019
Not just Foley, there were some other renowned figures in cryptosphere like the CEO of Shapeshift.io, Eric Voorhees, who made comments about it, saying “crypto is ruled by itself.”
Hey @Gemini… crypto has lots of rules already. Crypto IS rules. These rules are stronger than any political inscriptions; they are objective, open and knowable to all parties, they transcend borders, and they are enforced by mathematics. Crypto is a system of laws and not men. https://t.co/fblSPH0BZE
— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) January 4, 2019
Voorhees said that crypto trading platforms don’t actually need to comply with additional rules to function efficiently and securely. He argued that crypto is already governed by a set of rules “implemented by an open-source community of developers, miners, node operators, and users.”
In July 2017, a paper published in Finland’s central bank stated –
“Bitcoin is not regulated. It cannot be regulated. There is no need to regulate it because as a system it is committed to the protocol as is and the transaction fees it charges the users are determined by the users independently of the miners’ efforts. Bitcoin’s design as an economic system is revolutionary and therefore would merit an economist’s attention and scrutiny even if it had not been functional. Its apparent functionality and usefulness should further encourage economists to study this marvelous structure.”
Final Thoughts
With the discussion above, it seems like both Gemini and Voorhees are on the different sides of a coin. For the earlier, the consistent effort of Winklevoss twins’ to apply for Bitcoin ETF will bring crypto to the expected mainstream adoption.
And, when it comes to fighting for the regulation aiming to bring the mass adoption to the digital currency, they are not alone.