An Open Letter to Gary Gensler
Dear Chairman Gensler,
You may not know us, but we represent the crypto generation. The generation whose public services were plundered and privatized by our elected officials, the generation where the cost of living has vastly outpaced the rise in earnings, the generation whose parents and grandparents stripped our social services bare and lived off future generations. We are the people who are left to contend with an unassailable financial status quo and extremely challenging future.
Many of us will never own our homes. Those of us who were lucky enough to receive a college education will be paying for it most of our adult lives. We pay exorbitant rent but are denied mortgages by banks because we can’t afford them, even though the mortgage payments would be half of what we pay in rent. To make rent, we move in with our partners and/or friends, and all of us still have to work relentlessly to keep a roof over our heads. We’re terrified to get sick not only for health but financial implications. In short, we live our lives on a knife-edge of financial solvency.
All this considered, it should come as no surprise that we were quick to embrace a new financial opportunity that promised to remove the obstacles we faced every day.
The blockchain and associated crypto products provided us with a way to take back control over our future. Blockchain is an alternative and an answer. It gives us power and control over our own financial destinies in a way that was unimaginable to us before, and many of us see it as essential to achieving financial stability. Traditional financial institutions left us with no choice other than to turn to the blockchain-enabled ecosystem.
We know that we are of little concern as you enact regulation of the cryptocurrency system, but it is us who your decisions will impact the most. It may surprise you that we agree that crypto regulation is necessary, the blockchain is built on honesty, transparency, and integrity, principles that are in alignment with the SEC’s, and we absolutely agree that these principles need to be protected. We simply ask that these regulations are conceived and implemented in a way that still allows crypto and the blockchain-enabled ecosystem to develop and flourish and that it doesn’t steamroll everything that we see not only as an opportunity but mostly a necessity.
We are calling on you to:
- Give good actors in the US the option and register and get temporary licenses to continue to accelerate the technological development of blockchain and crypto assets without fear of legal recourse which is stifling innovation.
- Embrace US-based organizations in the crypto space to help ensure America continues to be the dominant country for financial and technological development.
- Provide a clear distinction for US companies and citizens on the difference between a blockchain-based currency, commodity, and security. No one is looking to violate securities laws, but a lack of guidance is causing confusion across the board.
While you may not know us, please hear us out, and understand that if we felt it was possible to achieve the same within the existing financial environment, we wouldn’t have turned to the blockchain in the first place. Financial access and control is a fundamental human right, and we believe blockchain is the accelerant to achieve financial inclusion in new and innovative ways. We hope you’ll agree.
Signed,
Unbanked
