Joe here, (it's really Chris)
Continuing my last article, What Keeps Bitcoin From Soaring?, I discussed how to get the average Schmo interested in investing, which would be a win-win for all of us. One thing I didn't mention would be based on a simple truth that U.S. Congressman Bradley Sherman doesn't seem to understand:
Tell people they can't have something, they want it even more.
When I saw the article, Will Bitcoin Be Banned? New Bill for Crypto Ban, my first thought was, this will be good for all of us. Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano, a partner at Morgan Creek Digital agrees with me on this sentiment, that banning it would make people adopt it more. The Congressman is a Money Traditionist, but more of a corrupt official that wants to maintain power over his constituents, US Citizens, and the world economy. I mean, the US Dollar is still used by many as a world currency, and I'm sure Sherman gains something in its use by those lining his pockets.
Yet, the Congressman's actions would have the opposite effect. Looks at drugs, they are illegal to use, and yet people still use them. Prostitution in the US is largely illegal, and yet it is still used by citizens. Banning something doesn't make it go away. If anything, banning makes something more valuable. Maybe the average Schmo and Smuck won't get into it, or maybe because less and less Schmos trust the government, that it would be widely adopted. And what the government classifies as bad, might be something worth having by distrustful citizens.
I doubt the US will ban it. As much as I criticize their intelligence, they're not that stupid. Excluding Sherman, Congress as a whole likely understands that banning wouldn't solve the problem, it would make it worse. Their major financial problem is the devaluation of the Dollar. Sherman wants a boogyman so those that invest in his pockets can keep their control while the rest of us suffer. Bitcoin is a threat to that. Want people to keep using the Dollar, leave Bitcoin alone, or even better, sponsor it.
Get ahead of it, plan for it's use, and you can share in it's success. Fight against it, you will be left in it's dust.
