Political support is bad for Bitcoin in the long run: Samson Mow

Former
Blockstream
Chief
Strategy
Officer
Samson
Mow
believes
that
the
newfound
political
support
for
crypto
could
weaken
Bitcoin’s
core
principles
and
increase
the
risk
of
future
failures
that
could
harm
users.

“I’m
not
bullish
on
politicians
becoming
pro
“crypto.”
It
may
feel
nice
given
the
prior
hostile
anti-crypto
stances,
but
long
term
it’s
bad
for
Bitcoin,”
Mow

stated
in
a
recent
post
on
X.

According
to
Mow,
political
involvement
potentially
compromises
Bitcoin’s
strength.
He
pointed
out
that
the
shift
in
stance
could
lead
to
similar
collapses
like
FTX
or
Luna
and
ultimately
harm
the
entire
ecosystem.

“Without
a
strong
Bitcoin
ethos,
this
shift
only
paves
the
way
for
the
next
FTX/Luna/Genesis,
&
once
again,
we
will
pay
for
it,”
he
added.

Mow’s
comments
follow
a
post
by
Senator
Cynthia
Lummis,
a
known
advocate
for
crypto’s
future
in
the
US.

Mow
didn’t
oppose
the
fact
that
Lummis
is
one
of
the
most
genuine
pro-Bitcoin
politicians.
However,
he
disagreed
with
Lummis
grouping
Bitcoin
with
other
crypto
assets.
He

said
that
many
people,
including
politicians
who
are
becoming
pro-Bitcoin,
might
not
understand
the
difference
between
Bitcoin
and
other
crypto
assets.

Crypto
has
become
an
increasingly
influential
factor
in
US
politics
in
recent
years,
with
industry
entities
investing
heavily
in
lobbying
and
campaign
contributions
to
shape
regulations
and
elect
sympathetic
representatives.

Over
the
past
two
weeks,
US
lawmakers
have
voted
on
three
crypto-related
bills,
including
H.J.Res.
109,
a
bill
seeking
to

overturn
SEC’s
crypto
rule
SAB
121,
FIT21,
a
bill
created
to
establish

a
regime
to
regulate
US
crypto
markets,
and
the
CBDC
Anti-Surveillance
State
Act,
a
legislation
aiming
to

prevent
the
Federal
Reserve
from
issuing
a
central
bank
digital
currency
(CBDC).

The
most
remarkable
development
is
that
the
Biden
administration
has
softened
its
stance
toward
crypto.
Instead
of
threatening
a
veto
of

FIT21,
which
the
White
House
did
with
H.J.Res.
109,
it
only

voiced
concerns
about
the
lack
of
investor
protection.

Some
experts
and
industry
figures
suggest
that
the
recent

listing
approval
of
spot
Ethereum
exchange-traded
funds
(ETFs)
in
the
US
may
be
partly
influenced
by
political
considerations.

They
speculate
that
the
US
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission’s
(SEC)
decision
might
have
been

impacted
by
potential
pressure
from
the
Biden
administration,
which
has
long
faced
criticism
for
its
stance
on
crypto
regulation.

Observers
believe
these
moves
are
part
of
a
strategy
to
win
votes
in
the
upcoming
presidential
election,
especially
since
Donald
Trump,
Biden’s
biggest
competitor,
has
publicly

advocated
making
the
US
a
crypto
leader.
Trump
also
aims
to

end
hostility
toward
the
industry.

[Update:
Replace
“Bitcoin”
in
the
first
paragraph
with
“crypto.”]